Melanie K. Morgan Law Blog

"I heard that once the child is twelve, she can choose whether she wants to live with me or with him." 

"My son just turned twelve, and he says he wants to live with me now, and not his mom.  So how do we do that?"

"You can't make me!  I'll just go live with Dad!"

This is one of the most persistent myths in Texas family law.  I hear it all the time from potential clients, and that last quote, unfortunately, came from my... Read More

There's probably never a good time to get divorced, but the current real estate market makes it tougher for many couples.  Most of my clients have one major asset - their home.  The days when a judge would just order that the wife "gets" the house are long gone;  now most couples have two wage-earners and both need the equity from the house to establish their new residence elsewhere. 

Fortunately, home prices haven't dropped so dramatically here in... Read More

I like to think of myself as being very open-minded and free of prejudices; not one to judge people by their outward appearances.  So I'm happy to go argue that you're a great parent, regardless of the number of visible tattoos or facial piercings you have.  However, when you go into court, you need to keep something in mind:  the judge is probably going to be older and more conservative than you are.  While you don't think the little diamond in your nose is a big deal,... Read More

The first question most potential clients ask me is, "How much will this cost?"  This is a sensible question, and one I don't mind trying to answer.  I can tell them certain things - how much I charge for an initial consultation, my minimum deposit, my hourly rate.  I can tell them how much the filing fee is for a divorce petition in Collin County.  I can quote them statistics, such as, "The average divorce in Texas costs $18,000." (I have no idea if... Read More