Please, plan for disability.   Estate planning is not only about carrying out our wishes when we die. A good, thorough plan will take care of you while you are living. Durable Powers of Attorney and Medical Directives give your loved ones the authority to make medical and financial decisions for you in the event that you are incapable.  Even without a condition such as dementia or Alzheimers, simply aging can bring with it a loss of mental capacity and leave you unable to manage your finances or health care.   Don’t wait until it is too late to put these documents in place. The...

Divorcing parents should pay special attention to their kids. Don't get caught up in your own drama and forget that your children are struggling to cope, too. Our next family law movie shows us the destruction of a family through a teen's view. The Squid and The Whale is a 2005 arthouse film that won awards at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. In the movie, Bernard Berkman is a once successful novelist whose career has taken a downturn. His wife, Joan, has begun publishing her own works to widespread acclaim, which causes growing...

There is no question that divorce is painful under any circumstance. Sometimes a divorcing parent feels so hurt and angry, they want to lash out at their soon-to-be ex and they do that through their kids. This is central to the plot of our next recommended family law movie.   Mrs. Doubtfire is a 1993 comedy starring Robin Williams and Sally Field as Daniel and Miranda Hillard, a San Francisco couple with three children Daniel is a devoted and loving father, but is unreliable as a husband. After a furious argument, Miranda files for divorce and is awarded custody of the children at...

Today, we continue our movie recommendations with a great story about the struggle to produce a happy, blended family after divorce.   Stepmom is a 1998 film starring Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon and Ed Harris. The movie tells the story of Luke and Jackie Harrison (Harris and Sarandon), a divorced couple struggling to raise their children, Ben and Anna, and create a new blended family. Luke is living with his new girlfriend Isabel (Roberts), who is several years younger. Isabel tries hard to befriend Ben and Anna. Ben seems comfortable and happy with her, but Anna completely rejects her. Anna and Jackie do...

We all love going to the movies! This week our Tessmer Tips blog will tell you about some movies we love that are about divorce, child custody and other family law issues.     Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep, the movie tells the story of the divorce of Ted Kramer (Hoffman) whose wife, Joanna (Streep), leaves him and their young son, Billy. Kramer and son have a difficult time, but eventually learn to cope without Joanna and form a tight father/son bond....

There are laws that protect an active duty soldier from being held in “default” for failing to respond to a divorce action. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), divorce proceedings may be postponed for the entire time an active duty servicemember is on duty and for up to 90 days thereafter.  An active duty spouse must be personally served with a summons and a copy of the divorce action in order for a Texas court to have jurisdiction.  In the case a divorce is uncontested, the active duty spouse may not have to be served if he or she...