Dallas Divorce Lawyers know…
Dallas County was the first county to implement the Standing Order in family law cases. Several other counties have followed their lead. The Standing Order is a set of orders that applies to every divorce (regardless of whether there are children of the marriage) and every suit regarding children (whether or not it is a divorce). I call them “do-right orders” because the main purposes of the orders are:
1. Minimize disruption to the children by ordering each parent to refrain from hiding the child, changing the child’s school or day-care, or saying negative things about the other parent to the child.
2. Preserve the property of the parties by ordering each party not to hide assets, change or deplete accounts, run up debts, open each other’s mail, turn off utilities at the residence of either party, or locking the other party out of the house.
3. Preserve the financial and personal records by ordering both parties to refrain from destroying important records.
4. Maintain insurance by prohibiting cancelation of insurance policies or changing beneficiaries.
5. Generally regulate the conduct of the parties by prohibiting the use of vulgar language, making harassing telephone calls, or threatening the other person.
Most of the orders are behaviors that normal people not in a divorce would know they should not engage in, but during a divorce people sometimes act out.
Nothing about the Standing Order for family law cases prohibits either party from conducting their usual business or occupation, hiring and paying for a lawyer’s services, or spending money or debt on reasonable living expenses.
Prior to adopting this Standing Order, and in counties that do not have a Standing Order, a Court would enter a Mutual Temporary Restraining Order containing the same provisions. (Do not confuse a Mutual Temporary Restraining Order as described with a Protective Order that addresses issues of domestic violence.)
