General- Law Blog

The Naturalization Process

September 3, 2018

What is the naturalization process?
Qualifying for U.S. citizenship through naturalization requires that an individual have had legal permanent resident status for at least 5 years or 3 years if he obtained the green card through a U.S.-citizen spouse or through the Violence Against Women Act. Other exceptions exist for members of the U.S. military who have served during a time of war. Applicants for citizenship must be at least 18 years old, provide proof of continuous residency, have “good moral character,” and must also pass English, U.S. history and civics exams. They are also required to pay an application fee.

Speeding Ticket Regrets

August 14, 2018

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| Criminal Defense, General

This morning we had a former potential client give us a call. He had literally just walked out of a local North Tarrant County city courtroom. Here is his story:

He had received a speeding ticket a few weeks earlier. When he got the ticket/citation, he had called us and we gave him our free consultation to make him aware of his options. He was satisfied with the information and when we offered to represent him he said he knew we would do a good job (Our Law Firm always does a great job) but told us he was a “smooth-talker” and would get it done himself.

He now regrets that decision.

He had called because when he got to the small city courthouse this morning, the clerk refused to answer any of his questions. When he entered the courtroom he was surrounded by twenty other people, was a bit intimated and had no idea what was about to happen next. He had pulled out his cell phone to Google what would be his next step and was immediately told to put his phone away by the bailiff. Intimidated, he sat there and watched the judge call up people. He noticed that the judge was asking a lot of questions and was not answering any questions. After waiting 50 minutes, he got up and went back outside to the clerk. He told the clerk he would pay the ticket and just entered a plea of guilty; he wanted to get out of there.

He then called us to see if there was anything else we could for him. He wanted to see if we could negotiate the fine lower and get some of his money back. But at this point he had already plead guilty and paid the outrageous fine so there was not much else we could do. He was frustrated and filled with regret. We asked if we could share the story and he readily agreed because he wanted people to “learn from his mistake.” His mistake is that he did not have his own lawyer watching out for him–do not make the same mistake.

This story brought to mind a few good points:

Point 1: Once a person goes to court and enters a plea of guilty on a speeding ticket, without filing a formal appeal, there is not much else we can do. It is important you hire a criminal defense attorney before you go to court.

Point 2: Most likely, if you pay a criminal defense attorney their small fee, you will come out paying less in the long run. In the story above, if he had paid our small fee, we would have gotten his ticket dismissed or at least negotiated on his behalf with the court for lower fee and he would have ended up paying less.

Don’t have a Will?

August 7, 2018

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| General

In Texas, when a married person dies without a Will and leaves children from another relationship, his surviving spouse will only be entitled to keep her own one-half interest in the community estate. The deceased spouse’s share of the community estate will pass to his children in equal shares.

Additionally, only one-third of the deceased spouse’s separate personal property passes to his surviving spouse, with the remaining two-thirds passing to his children.

If the deceased spouse died leaving separate real property, the surviving spouse is entitled to only a life estate in one-third of that property. The remainder is inherited outright by the deceased spouse’s children in equal shares.Since the home was purchased before marriage, it would be characterized as the husband’s separate property. As a result, she would inherit only a life estate in one-third of that property, with the remainder inherited outright by her husband’s children.

How does the Probate Process work?

July 15, 2018

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| General

Probate Process
An estate in Texas involves all of the assets owned by someone at the time of their death, this would include: cash, real estate, stocks, bonds, life insurance, retirement accounts, cars, etc.

The probate of someone’s estate refers to the process by which a Court recognizes that person’s death and authorizes the administration of that person’s estate. The probate process applies both when:

Someone dies leaving a Will or
When someone dies without a will (commonly referred to as Intestacy)
The Texas Probate Process requires that:

All of that person’s property will be gathered
Their debts paid
The remaining assets distributed according to either the provision of his or her Will, or
If they died without a Will, then the property will be distributed according to Texas law regarding intestacy (dying without a Will).