Kaufman County Standing Order Regarding Children, Property and Conduct of the Parties in Family Cases

When you file for divorce, you usually have to wait two or three weeks to have a temporary orders hearing which is where it is decided how things will be while the divorce is pending. Issues like deciding which party will have use of the marital residence, which parent will have primary possession of the children, and other relevant issues are decided at that time. But what about the time period between filing for divorce and the temporary orders hearing?

To deal with that time frame, the Kaufman county judges have issued standing orders that apply to all family cases and instruct the parties on how the can and cannot act and what they can and cannot do. These standing orders are designed to maintain civility between the parties, to protect any children involved and to preserve the property of parties going through a divorce.

If you are concerned that the other party may damage or destroy property, withdraw money, or run off with any children, these standing orders are meant to prevent those actions. These orders obviously can’t stop anyone from doing anything, but they do give you an avenue for recourse if the other party does act improperly. If the other party does something like drain your joint bank account or run off with your kids, these orders are enforceable. This means that you can go to court, show the court that the other party violated the orders, and the court can give out an appropriate punishment.

If you’re thinking about filing for divorce or enacting a suit regarding your children, read the Kaufman County Standing Orders below to see what rules are in place in time frame after you file suit but before you go to court.

No party to this lawsuit has requested this order. Rather, this order is a standing order of the Kaufman County District Courts and County Court at Law that applies in every divorce suit and every suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed in Kaufman County. The District Court and the County Courts at Law of Kaufman have adopted this order because the parties and their children should be protected and their property preserved while the lawsuit is pending before the court. Therefore, it is ORDERED:

1. Removing the children from the State of Texas, acting directly or in concert with others, without the written agreement of both parties or an order of this Court.
2. Disrupting or withdrawing the children l:'rom the school or day-care facility where the children are presently enrolled, without the written agreement of both parents, or an order of this Court.
3. Hiding or secreting the children from the other parent or changing the children's place of abode, without the written agreement of both parents or an order of this Court.
4. Disturbing the peace of the children.
5. Making disparaging remarks about each other or the other person's family members, including, but not limited to, the children‘s grandparents, aunts, uncles, or stepparents, in the presence or within the hearing of the children.
6. Discussing with the children, or with any other person in the presence of the children, any litigation related to the children or the other party.
7. If this is an original divorce action, allowing an unrelated adult with whom the party has an intimate or dating relationship to remain in the same residence with the children between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

Both parties are ORDERED to refrain from doing the following acts:

1. Using vulgar, profane, obscene, or indecent language, or a coarse or offensive manner to communicate with other party, whether in person, by telephone, in writing, or by electronic transmission.
2. Threatening the other party in person, by telephone, in writing, or by electronic transmission to take unlawful action against any person.
3. Causing bodily injury to the other party or to a child of either party.
4. Threatening the other party or a child of either party with imminent bodily injury.
5. Placing one or more telephone calls, at any unreasonable hour, in an offensive or repetitious manner without a legitimate purpose of communication, or anonymously.
6. Opening or diverting mail addressed to the other party.

If this is a divorce case, both parties to the marriage are ORDERED to refrain from doing the following acts:

1. Destroying, removing, concealing, encumbering, transferring, or otherwise harming or reducing the value of the property of one or both of the parties.
2. Misrepresenting or refusing to disclose to the other party or to the Court, on proper request, the existence, amount, or location of any property of one or both of the parties.
3. 3. Damaging or destroying the tangible property of one or both of the parties, including and document that represents or embodies anything of value.
4. Tampering with the tangible property of one or both of the parties, including any documents that represents or embodies anything of value, and causing pecuniary loss to the other party.
5. 5. Selling, transferring, assigning, mortgaging, encumbering, or in any other manner alienating any of the property of either party, whether personal property or real estate property, and whether separate of community, except as specifically authorized by this order.
6. 6. Incurring any indebtedness, other than legal expense in connection with this suit, except as specifically authorized by this order.
7. Making withdrawals from any checking or savings account in any financial institution for any purpose, except as specifically authorized by this order.
8. Spending any sum of cash in either party's possession or subject to either party's control for any purpose, except as specifically authorized by this order.
9. Withdrawing or borrowing in any manner for any purpose from any retirement. profit-sharing, pension, death, or other employee benefit plan or employee savings plan or from any individual retirement account or Keogh account, except as specifically authorized by this order.
10. Signing or endorsing the other party's name or any negotiable instrument, check, or draft, such as tax refunds, insurance payments, and dividends, or attempting to negotiate any negotiable instrument payable to the other party without the personal signature of the other party.
11. Taking any action to terminate or limit credit or charge cards in the name of the other party.
12. Entering, operating, or exercising control over the motor vehicle in the possession of the other party.
13. Discontinuing or reducing the withholding for federal income taxes on wages or salary while this suit is pending.
14. Terminating or in any manner affecting the service of water, electricity, gas, telephone, cable television, or other contractual services such as security, peat control, landscaping, or yard maintenance at the other party's residence or in any manner attempting to withdraw any deposits for service in connection with such services.
15. Intercepting or recording the other party's electronic communications.
16. Excluding the other party from the use and enjoyment of the other party‘s residence.

“Records” means any tangible document or recording and includes e-mail or other digital or electronic data, whether stored on a computer hard drive, diskette, or other electronic storage device.

If this is a divorce case, both parties to the marriage are ORDERDED to refrain from doing the following acts:

1. Concealing or destroying any family records, property records, financial records, business records, or any records of income, debt or other obligations.
2. Falsifying any writing or record relating to the property of either party.

If this is a divorce case, both parties to the marriage are ORDERED to refrain from doing the following acts:

1. Withdrawing or borrowing in any manner all or any part of the cash surrender value of life insurance policies on the life of either party, except as specifically authorized by this order.
2. Changing or in any manner altering the beneficiary designation on any life insurance on the life of either party or the parties’ children.
3. Canceling, altering, failing to renew or pay premiums, or in any manner affecting the present level of coverage of any life, casualty, automobile, or health insurance policies insuring the parties‘ property or persons including the parties‘ children.

If this is a divorce case, both parties to the marriage are ORDERDED to refrain from doing the following acts:

1. To engage in acts reasonably and necessary to the conduct of that party's usual business and occupation.
2. To make expenditures and incur indebtedness for reasonable attorney's fees and expenses in connection with this suit.
3. To make expenditures and incur indebtedness for reasonable and necessary living expenses for food, clothing, shelter, transportation and medical care.
4. To make withdrawals from accounts in financial institutions only for the purposes authorized by this order.

The Petitioner shall attach a copy of this order to the original petition and to each copy of the petition. At the time the petition is filed, if the Petitioner has failed to attach a copy of this order to the petition and any copy of the petition, the Clerk shall ensure that a copy of this order is attached to the petition and every copy of the petition presented.

This order is effective upon the filing of the original petition and shall remain in full force and effect as a temporary restraining order for fourteen days after the date of the filing of the original petition. If no party contests this order by presenting evidence at a hearing on or before fourteen days after the date of the filing of the original petition, this order shall continue in full force and effect as a temporary injunction until further order of this court. This entire order will terminate and will no longer be effective when the court signs a final order or the case is dismissed.

If any part of this order is different from any part of a protective order that has already been entered or is later entered, the protective order provisions prevail. Any part of this order not changed by some later order remains in full force and effect until the court signs a final decree.

The parties are encouraged to settle their disputes amicably without court intervention. The parties are encouraged to use alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation, to resolve the conflicts that may arise in this lawsuit.