Austin Family Law And Personal Injury Blog

Conservatorship in situations involving domestic violence

On behalf of The Law Offices of Mark C. Roles, PC posted in child custody on Thursday, August 8, 2019.

In typical child custody cases, many experts agree that it is best when both parents have an active and significant role in their children's lives. Achieving this may require parents in Austin to set aside their differences and work hard to get along for the sake of their children, even in the midst of a divorce or other difficult breakup.

However, there are some situations, such as when one parent has perpetrated domestic violence against either the child or the other parent, in which the best interests of the child might not be best served by having both parents involved in the child's life. Indeed, the physical and emotional safety of the victims is paramount.

What are ways to cope with stress from your divorce?

On behalf of The Law Offices of Mark C. Roles, PC on Tuesday, August 6, 2019.

Divorce can be a very emotional time. Feeling all these emotions can quickly become stressful. Below are ways you can cope with the stress of your divorce.

Watching your diet

Country's epidemic of traffic deaths is preventable

On behalf of The Law Offices of Mark C. Roles, PC posted in car accidents on Thursday, July 25, 2019.

While there is a lot of talk about a deadly opioid epidemic impacting Texas and the rest of the country, people could also quite rightly speak of a traffic accident epidemic as well. By way of example, between 2006 and 2012, 100,000 people died in connection with the opioid epidemic, that is, from drug overdoses or other drug-related issues. However, in the same years, almost 190,500 people died from car accidents. Moreover, this number does not represent all car accidents, but just those which police attributed to drunk driving, distracted driving and speeding.

These three very bad driving habits make up a disproportionate share of fatal traffic accidents. Between 2000 and today, over 624,000 people have died because of motor vehicle accidents. Of those 624,000, 213,000 died in an accident in which at least one driver had higher than .08 blood alcohol content in his or her blood and thus was legally too drunk to drive. Additionally, over 197,000 people died because of speeding, which can include both exceeding the posted limit and just traveling too fast for the road and traffic conditions. Finally, around 78,000 people died because of some form of distracted driving.

Personal injury claims and distracted driving

On behalf of The Law Offices of Mark C. Roles, PC on Wednesday, July 10, 2019.

It’s a warning that can’t be repeated enough: distracted driving puts everyone on the road at risk. With the rise of cellphones, inattentiveness has become an even bigger problem. Unfortunately, a driver’s decision to divert their attention elsewhere can result in serious injuries to others.

When that is the case, it may also be a time to consider filing a personal injury claim.

Overview of Texas community property laws

On behalf of The Law Offices of Mark C. Roles, PC posted in divorce on Wednesday, July 10, 2019.

Like a handful of other states, Texas follows what is called a "community property" system. When it comes to a divorce, this means that property gets divided a little differently than it does in other states, including some of our neighbor states. Basically, the law considers a married couple to hold what it calls community property jointly. With respect to a divorce, this means that whatever is community property will get divided 50-50. The even split is without regard to whose name the property is legally in.

The definition of community property is quite broad. In fact, the default is that all property a married couple owns is community property and, as a result, should get divided in half during a divorce. A person can claim certain items, like property held prior to marriage, inheritances, gifts and the like as separate property. So long as the court agrees, the person can then keep the property outright.

Seven killed in major motorcycle accident

On behalf of The Law Offices of Mark C. Roles, PC posted in car accidents on Wednesday, June 26, 2019.

A severe accident in another part of the country left seven motorcyclists dead. The motorcyclists were reportedly part of a group of active and former Marines who enjoyed riding their motorcycles together. The tragic story attracted national media attention.

The accident happened in the dinner hour and involved a pickup truck as well as the pack of motorcycles. Police said that the pickup driver, who appears to have simply run in to the motorcycles, survived the collision.

How will a court decide the best interests of my child?

On behalf of The Law Offices of Mark C. Roles, PC posted in child custody on Friday, June 14, 2019.

When Texas courts award conservatorship, which is this state's name for child custody, they will do their best to try to determine the best interests of the children involved.

However, deciding what is or is not in the best interests of a child is not an easy task, particularly for a judge who likely does not know the full extent of an Austin family's situation, no matter how much he or she may try to be understanding about it.

Do you think your marriage is going to end in a divorce?

On behalf of The Law Offices of Mark C. Roles, PC posted in divorce on Friday, May 31, 2019.

It is common for marriage counselors to say that there are signs that a marriage is "on the rocks." For the most part, many of these signs are quite obvious: arguing more frequently than ever before; failing to compromise on important issues; and even slacking intimacy in a relationship. However, for each marriage, the signs are different. A recent article asked the questions: Do you think your marriage is going to end in divorce? Should you expect it to?

Many people still cite the supposed common knowledge statistic that half of all marriages end in divorce. That may have been true at one point in time, and it may very well still be true today. With the varying ways in which those types of statistics are tracked, it is hard to tell for sure. But, as the recent article noted, it can seem like it is harder for people to find their "soulmate for life."

How can drivers start seeing motorcycles?

On behalf of The Law Offices of Mark C. Roles, PC on Thursday, May 23, 2019.

We’ve all seen the bumper stickers urging us to start seeing motorcyclists, but what does that mean exactly?

Here are a few ways drivers can be mindful of two-wheeled traffic when traveling throughout Austin:

Just how dangerous is drunk driving?

On behalf of The Law Offices of Mark C. Roles, PC posted in car accidents on Friday, May 17, 2019.

There are many private and public media awareness campaigns designed to help people in Texas and throughout the rest of the country understand just how dangerous distracted driving is, but we should not overlook another danger that has been present on the roads since the automobile was invented: drunk driving. But, just how dangerous is drunk driving?

Well, based on the statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, some of our readers may be shocked at the true impact of drunk driving in America. According to the NHTSA, approximately 30 people per day die in America in car accidents that involved a person driving under the influence. It is estimated that the scale of damages and deaths caused by drunk driving costs about $44 billion per year.

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