Marcela Halmagean, the principal of Halmagean Law Firm focuses her practice on all aspects of Family Law including divorce, child custody, and child support. As a Certified Fraud Examiner, she is adept at assisting clients with a high net worth in the review of their spouse’s financial statements and records to locate any opportunity for financial misappropriation in preparation of a divorce such as fraudulent transfers or undisclosed income.

In her own words, “I’m one of the few attorneys out there who love their work. I love my clients and my cases.” During initial consultations, Ms. Halmagean evaluates each case based on the facts and determines a course of action and whether or not to represent that client. She expects and encourages honesty from her clients and returns that honesty by being upfront in her counsel and aggressive in her representation.

The Family Law practice of Halmagean Law Firm centers around issues related to:

• Domestic or International Adoptions

Whether you plan to adopt a child you have never met or a stepchild, adoption is an irreversible process and therefore before undertaking efforts to adopt that child or stepchild you took to heart, you may want to ask yourself whether adoption is indeed right for you. Please see our page exclusively dedicated to Adoption issues for more information and some fundamental questions you may wish to ask yourself before embarking on the road to adopting a child.

• Contested or Uncontested Divorce

If you are not sure if divorce is right for you, there is a pre-divorce test at Coalition for Cooperative Divorce. It was written for another state, but it still touches on relationship issues that will inevitably affect your divorce. This will give you more information from which to decide a course of action. If you decide that divorce is what you wish to do or if your spouse has already filed for divorce, Marcela Halmagean will help you through the process in the traditional way of taking a case through the court system and working toward resolution by trial, mediation, or she can assist you through the process as a collaborative law attorney.

• Collaborative Law

A new divorce procedure that allows parties to be represented by counsel at the same time as settling their case outside of the court system. We handle collaborative law cases anywhere in the State of Texas. For a more detailed explanation of the Collaborative Law process, please click on the word link.

• Alternative Dispute Resolution (Mediation and Arbitration)

As part of the process of a conventional divorce and before such divorce is tried in front of a judge or a jury, a case may be referred by the judge to mediation or the parties may agree to mediate or arbitrate children and/or property issues. As part of her job to represent you zealously, Marcela Halmagean will assist you in such process and advise you in your decisions to evaluate your spouse’s proposed settlement offer(s) and will put together settlement offers on your behalf that may bring about the settlement of your case.

• Child Support Issues

In Texas, there is no statute of limitations as to the collection of court ordered child support if such child support arrearage has not been confirmed by a court and a judgment on the child support arrearage has not been issued on such amounts. Once you have a judgment locked in on a certain amount of arrearage, your collection period may expire after ten years from the date of the Order. Call us to review the facts of your case and decide if you still have remedies left.

Additionally, Halmagean Law Firm handles child support modification cases as well. If you lost your high paying job or if you learned that your ex-spouse is earning three times the amount he was earning at the time of your divorce decree, you may want to ask the court to review that child support order. Please call us with the facts of your case.

• Paternity Suits

A paternity lawsuit, also called “parentage suit” is a proceeding that determines a legal biological parent, usually a father. Anyone with a certain legal relationship can file a paternity suit including the child himself (generally through a legal representative) or a governmental agency. A paternity lawsuit is mostly filed by a biological mother or father and asks that the court establishes the rightful legal rights and duties of both parties vis a vis the child subject of such suit. Halmagean Law Firm has represented both, biological mothers and fathers in such suits and welcomes your inquiries on this subject.

• Pre- and Post-Marital Agreements

A premarital agreement is a written agreement between two persons contemplating marriage. In a premarital agreement, a couple generally resolves in advance financial matters in the event of death or divorce. A premarital agreement may also designate ways and/or means by which the couple will resolve individual lifestyle, non-financial disputes, and cultural disputes. A premarital agreement however cannot address matters as they related to children.

A premarital agreement overrides and preempts state, family and probate laws that otherwise would apply. There are three basic rules that should be followed to safeguard your agreement: full and fair disclosure, separate and independent counsel, and ample lead-time before the wedding.

A postmarital agreement in contrast, is a written agreement between two persons who are already married but who desire to convert property character from separate to community or community to separate property.

A postmarital agreement will help you organize your marital assets and reflect on what you want to happen to your assets in case of death or divorce. Such a contract may be written any time during a marriage. If you do have such a document, both of you should re-read and updated it periodically as your roles and assets change. Marriage contracts are governed by state law and have to be revised if you change your residency. The full and fair disclosure principle and the employment of separate and independent counsel are also two of the most important conditions that a couple contemplating a postmarital agreement should follow.