Law Office of Bryan Fagan PLLC Podcast

This episode examines whether Texans can truly file for divorce entirely online, walking through how platforms like eFileTexas.gov connect petitioners to the court system, the residency requirements that must be met before filing, and why using the correct state-approved forms matters more than people expect; it covers the real costs involved, including court filing fees that typically range from...

This episode walks new residents of Fort Worth and Tarrant County through the maze of government services they'll need after a move, breaking down the difference between city, county, state, and federal responsibilities so listeners know exactly where to go for a driver's license, vehicle registration, property tax questions, voter registration, and utilities; it also covers the courts sys...

This episode explores lifelong learning opportunities for families in Fort Worth, Texas, covering four key areas that shape a family's educational journey: navigating the local school landscape of public, charter, and private options; homeschooling as a way to customize education around a child's individual needs; community enrichment resources that extend learning beyond the traditional c...

This episode of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan podcast explores how Fort Worth is managing rapid population growth through its transportation network, covering everyday transit options like Trinity Metro buses, the bike-share program, and on-demand rideshare zones, alongside downtown circulators including the Dash, the Orange Line, and the newly launched free Blue Line that replaced the historic Mo...

This episode of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan podcast maps out the Fort Worth healthcare ecosystem — from free and low-cost clinics like Mercy Clinic, Cornerstone, and the RAM pop-up clinics, to urgent care and primary care practices, to specialized trauma hospitals such as Medical City Fort Worth and Texas Health Harris Methodist, to mental and behavioral health resources including the MHMR crisi...

This episode of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan podcast unpacks parenting time attorneys in Fort Worth, Texas, walking through exactly how Texas courts decide when each parent spends time with their child, starting with the specific legal terminology that trips up so many parents in family court, including the distinction between conservatorship, which covers decision-making authority over things li...

This episode of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan podcast unpacks domestic violence attorneys in Fort Worth, Texas, walking through how Texas law handles family violence allegations, protective orders, and the rights of both victims and the accused, starting from the more than 200,000 family violence calls Texas law enforcement responded to in a single year and moving through how Texas Family Code Sec...

This episode of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan podcast tackles a challenge that hits especially hard for hardworking entrepreneurs: protecting a business through a Texas divorce, walking listeners through why business owners facing divorce in Tarrant County courts benefit from specialized legal counsel, how Texas law characterizes a business as separate or community property under the inception of...

This episode of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan podcast unpacks one of the most severe and permanent actions in the Texas family justice system: the termination of parental rights, walking listeners through why termination is fundamentally different from a custody modification in that it completely and permanently erases the legal parent-child relationship rather than leaving room for future adjustm...

This episode of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan podcast breaks down how paternity is legally established in Texas, starting with the crucial distinction between being a biological father and a legal father, since under Texas law an unmarried man is not automatically granted enforceable custody or visitation rights simply because he is the biological parent; the discussion then walks through the two...

Do grandparents have legal rights in Texas? In this episode, we take an honest look at one of the most emotionally charged areas of Texas family law: grandparent access and custody. Texas does not automatically grant grandparents the right to visitation or custody of a grandchild; instead, the law begins with a strong constitutional presumption, affirmed in Troxel v. Granville, that a fit parent a...

Surrogacy is one of the most hopeful ways to build a family in Texas, and also one of the most legally structured, which is why this episode walks through exactly how gestational agreements work under Texas Family Code Chapter 160 for intended parents and gestational carriers in Fort Worth and Tarrant County. We explain what a gestational agreement is and how it differs from an ordinary contract,...

Everyone's heard of a prenup — but what if you're already married? In this episode, we break down the postnuptial agreement: the legal contract Texas couples can sign after the wedding to define how assets, property, and debts are handled during the marriage and beyond. We start with what a postnup actually is, then walk through the life triggers that lead couples to consider one — an inhe...

Could you be married without ever having a wedding? In this episode, we dig into one of the most misunderstood areas of Texas family law: common law (informal) marriage — and what it takes to end one. We start by busting the biggest myth in the state (no, there is no "7-year rule"), then walk through the three-part legal test: a present agreement to be married, living together as spouses...

Few things terrify a parent like an unexpected visit from Child Protective Services. In this episode, we walk through the entire Texas CPS case process in five phases — starting with how an investigation actually begins: priority levels, background checks, interviews, and the home visit. From there, we cover the rights every parent has during an investigation (including what you're not require...

Who gets the house, the 401(k), the business? In this episode, we walk through how asset division really works in a Texas divorce — starting with the two buckets every asset falls into: community property and separate property. We cover the community property presumption (and why the burden of proof falls on you), the "danger zone" of commingling funds, and how tracing works when separat...

Ask ten Texans about alimony and you'll get ten confident answers — most of them wrong. In this episode, we dispel the Texas alimony myth once and for all, starting with the fact that surprises almost everyone: the word "alimony" doesn't actually appear in the Texas Family Code. What Texas has is spousal maintenance under Chapter 8 — and it looks nothing like the Hollywood versio...

What does "custody" actually mean in Texas? Not what most people think — and in this episode, we trace the entire arc of Texas family law from conservatorship basics all the way to a finalized adoption. We start with the term that surprises every parent: Texas law doesn't say custody, it says conservatorship — the legal framework of rights and duties over a child's education, med...

What happens when life outgrows your court order? The parent who once worked Monday through Friday is now on rotating shifts. One family moves across town. The child who needed bedtime stories now needs rides to tutoring and practice. In this episode, we explain how Texas law lets you update a family court order so it reflects today's reality — and what can never be changed. We start with life...

Who is responsible for marital debt when a Texas marriage ends? It's the question that keeps divorcing spouses up at night — and the answers surprise most people. In this episode, we walk through how debt actually gets divided in a Texas divorce, starting with the debt dilemma: why allocation matters so much for your credit score, your cash flow, and your financial freedom after the decree. Te...

How do courts decide child custody in Texas? In this episode, we decode the legal jargon and walk through the entire Texas custody system — starting with the term that surprises most parents: Texas law doesn't actually say "custody." It says conservatorship, and the distinction matters. We explain the two forms it takes: Joint Managing Conservatorship, where both parents share the ri...

Denied time with your child, or stuck with a schedule that no longer works? In this episode, we break down how visitation actually works in Texas — starting with the fact that Texas law doesn't even use the word "visitation." The legal term is possession and access, governed by Chapter 153 of the Texas Family Code, and every decision runs through one guiding principle: the best inter...

Child support in Texas is a formula, not a mystery — and in this episode, we walk through exactly how that formula works, piece by piece. It starts with net resources under Texas Family Code §154.062: nearly all income — wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, self-employment, rental income — minus only specific allowed deductions like federal income tax, Social Security, union dues, and the child&...

Can a marriage be legally erased? It's one of the most misunderstood questions in Texas family law — and in this episode, we separate the myth from the statute. An annulment doesn't end a marriage the way divorce does: divorce ends a valid marriage while recognizing it existed, but an annulment declares the marriage void, as if it never legally happened. We walk through what that distincti...

Can you get divorced without fighting in court? For many Texas families, the answer is yes — and in this episode, we explain how. Collaborative divorce is a private, team-based process governed by the Texas Collaborative Family Law Act (Family Code Chapter 15), where both spouses and their own attorneys sign a participation agreement committing to resolve the divorce outside the courtroom. We walk...