Wanting to improve your station in life is one of the most admirable and noble goals to have. The idea that we can all take concrete steps to improve our lives is an invigorating thought to have at the beginning of each day. If your life consists of continually wanting to improve yourself and those around, you then I think you’ll lead a very successful life. To that extent, there are many opportunities for you to go back to school to start a degree program, finish a degree, or even attend trade school. You can decide on this based on your specific circumstances and your desired goals when it comes to your career and your education.
Whatever your goals are from an educational standpoint the likely motivating factor for you wanting to go back to school has to do with career goals. That career goal could be to make more money, gain a promotion or do some combination of the two. Before you commit yourself to go back to school and trying to better yourself from an educational perspective, you really ought to make sure that it is necessary. In many cases, you may find out that you can achieve your professional goals without ever having had to go back to school in the first place.
There are certain jobs out there where you do need a certain level of education to get the job and compete in that area. Examples of careers like this are doctor, attorney, or even engineer. You cannot become a heart surgeon or a chemical engineer without first having gone to school. If you aspire like this, then you should plan on going to college or at least completing a college degree. On top of that, different jobs may require varying amounts of postgraduate work as well as practice time that is required to allow you to work in that field.
however, not every job or career requires you to go back to school. At the very least, you may find that your desired career does not require you to have a four-year degree. In those cases, you may be able to attend a trade school or other vocational school where you can obtain the level of education that is required to compete in that career field. Learning this information early on can save you time, money, and stress. There are no brownie points or extra credit gained from obtaining a degree or in education that is unnecessary for your career goals.
The last thing I will say on this subject is that education is a great thing so long as you can use it for some purpose. If the education that you are seeking is pure to be used for your enjoyment and edification, then that is fine so long as the cost is not exorbitant or prevents you from achieving other goals you might have. However, if your educational goal would prevent you from achieving other goals you may have then you need to be able to determine whether it is a goal worth sacrificing for.
In our culture today, I think there is an over-emphasis put on education. I realize that this may sound funny coming from an attorney who had to go to seven years of school after high school, but I believe that the premium that is put on education comes at the expense of other types of work and other goals that people may have. All you need to do is talk with a friend, coworker, or family member who has an exorbitant amount of debt associated with a college degree that they began but did not finish to learn about the difficulties of becoming educated after high school.
Bottom line is that you should figure out if you need a certain type of education to achieve a professional goal. If you’ve got find out education is necessary, then you should seek to go about obtaining that education as inexpensively as possible. At the end of the day, people care about the degree and that is about it. People care less about where you got the degree from. All that matters is whether you can do the job you have been hired to do. during this time when you are considering going back to school, this should be a major issue for you to think about with your family.
Where can you find the education that you need?
If you have determined you must go back to school for additional education then today’s blog post is for you. One other point that I would raise regarding this subject is that it may not be only you that needs to relocate for educational opportunities. There may be some circumstances where it is your child, a spouse, or another person in your family that may need to move to further their education. In that case, today’s blog post will still be very important for you to consider in the information contained within this short document may be able to assist you in making determinations about relocation.
One of the most important factors to consider when it comes to relocating for educational reasons is that you are already likely to live in the Houston metropolitan area if you are reading our blog post. As such, while it is possible, it is also very likely that any educational opportunity that you or a family member need to take advantage of is already available to you in Houston. For that reason, you should strongly consider whether you need to move at all to take advantage of some educational opportunities available to you elsewhere. here is one situation where I could envision a need to move not being in need but more of a want.
What if you have remarried after a divorce and your new spouse brought a teenage child into your marriage period that teenage child may have a desire to move to attend a certain school. Many people do this every year when they find alternative employment or educational opportunities elsewhere. However, in this type of situation, the desire to move to be closer to this teenage child may conflict with your court orders which require your children from another marriage to remain within Harris County or a contiguous county to Harris. a new paragraph in that type of situation, there can be stiff penalties associated with moving.
You would need to consider whether moving, in that case, would be worth the effort and the stress associated with potentially violating a court order. You would need to think about the move in terms of its impact not only on your relationship with your children but also on your relationship with your Co-parent. The relationship with your Co-parent and ex-spouse is important even if you are no longer married to that person. The bottom line is that you and this person still share a relationship in that you are raising children together. As such, this is not a relationship that you should necessarily look to harm for anything other than a very good reason. Moving for anything less than an absolute necessity at this stage in your life would probably not be justified. However, only you know your specific circumstances and the motivations that you have when it comes to moving.
If you would like to obtain information directly from one of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan attorneys, then you should contact us today to set up a free-of-charge consultation. These consultations are important for many reasons. Number one, in a free-of-charge consultation you can learn more about our law practice and the amount of experience that we have in representing people in your position. Learning about the kind of help that our office can provide you with may give you the confidence that you need to move forward with a modification case or other type of family law case involving a relocation.
Most importantly, you can obtain specific information about the circumstances that you and your family face when it comes to a possible relocation for educational opportunities. While it may be true that most circumstances do not necessarily justify trying to relocate for educational opportunities, your circumstances may be the exception rather than the rule. You may have some extenuating circumstance that makes it completely worthwhile to attempt to modify or otherwise obtain permission from a court to make this move.
Otherwise, you may also be in a circumstance where you do not have court orders in place that restrict where you can move for educational reasons. In that case, you can and should learn about what is entailed when it comes to relocating and how that can impact your need for a court order from a Texas family court. It may be better for you to wait until you move and establish residency in a new place and then try to get court orders there. On the other hand, you may be more comfortable with negotiating alongside your Co-parent while you still live in Texas or are in the Houston metropolitan area.
Things to look out for when considering a move after a Texas family law case
Depending upon your specific circumstances a move may be more or less justified when it comes to doing so to further your education or that of a family member. Consider that the benefit likely needs to be substantial to relocate after a family law case for educational reasons. Many of the justifications people use to relocate after a family law case would still lead to a direct violation of a court order. This is a substantial risk to you on a personal level regarding your relationship with your children. By violating a court order, you risk financial and relational harm.
If you are the primary custodian of your child, then you can expect that your Co-parent will attempt to file an enforcement case against you or at least seek a temporary order barring you from moving with your child if that is your intention. The great part about having a family court order in place is that you have something reliable that you can lean up against to protect your time and your rights to your children. However, the same rule applies to your Co-parent. He or she would have the same ability to do so, and you can expect that he or she will not readily agree to allow you to move a long distance with your child for any reason.
Therefore, you should attempt to work with your Co-parent when it comes to negotiating a potential relocation. It may be worth your while to at least bring the subject up to determine whether or not a move would be possible. Likely the answer would be no but at least you would be able to say that you attempted to have a discussion with your Co-parent about the different options available to you.
Spousal maintenance and relocation for educational opportunities
One of the requirements for being able to receive spousal maintenance in a Texas divorce is that you must show a willingness to attempt to gain employment or otherwise provide for yourself financially independent of your soon-to-be ex-spouse. For example, you may have to show a family court judge that you have attempted to find employment and have either been unable to do so or that your attempts to locate employment did not result in you locating occupations or jobs that would pay you suitable wages to provide for your family from a financial standpoint.
Additionally, you may be in a position where you are a few credits short of a degree or other certification that may change your employment or income circumstances. In that case, you need to be diligent about how you pursue those additional credit hours. On top of that, you need to be able to show a family court judge that you have attempted to obtain those hours to be able to become eligible for spousal maintenance. This is to say that while you may not need to relocate for additional education, you may need to enroll in some sort of coursework locally to meet the standard for spousal maintenance in your case. If you have specific questions about how the laws on spousal maintenance impact, you, and your family specifically then you should reach out to one of our licensed family law attorneys.
Moving in violation of a court order
As we have already discussed today, moving in violation of a court order even if it is for a good reason such as to gain better educational levels is not something that is recommended. At the very least, violating a court order would harm the trust in the relationship between you and your Co-parent. You and your Co-parent may have worked diligently since the end of your family law case to repair broken bonds and generally build A level of trust with one another. In that case, purposely violating a court order may set you all back a great distance from one another and cause reparable harm in the relationship.
Additionally, violating a court order would likely cause your Co-parent to file an enforcement case against you. An enforcement case simply seeks to point out to a family court judge that you have purposely violated a court order on specific dates in specific ways. Assuming that your Co-parent is successful in proving their allegations then he or she may be awarded make-up time with your children as well as monetary damages.
on top of that, your Co-parent may decide to file a modification case alongside their enforcement. The modification case would seek to change some aspect of your court order relating to subjects like geographic restrictions, child custody, and anything about your child. It may even be the case that you’re Co-parent attempts to argue that he or she should be named as the primary custodian of your children if not already in that position.
Relocating for educational reasons and opportunities after a Texas family law case is a risk. You should be intentional about doing so and consider your specific circumstances before deciding I can change your life and that of your child.
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Bryan Fagan, a native of Atascocita, Texas, is a dedicated family law attorney inspired by John Grisham’s “The Pelican Brief.” He is the first lawyer in his family, which includes two adopted brothers. Bryan’s commitment to family is personal and professional; he cared for his grandmother with Alzheimer’s while completing his degree and attended the South Texas College of Law at night.
Married with three children, Bryan’s personal experiences enrich his understanding of family dynamics, which is central to his legal practice. He specializes in family law, offering innovative and efficient legal services. A certified member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, Bryan is part of an elite group of legal professionals committed to ongoing education and high-level expertise.
His legal practice covers divorce, custody disputes, property disputes, adoption, paternity, and mediation. Bryan is also experienced in drafting marital property agreements. He leads a team dedicated to complex family law cases and protecting families from false CPS allegations.
Based in Houston, Bryan is active in the Houston Family Law Sector of the Houston Bar Association and various family law groups in Texas. His deep understanding of family values and his professional dedication make him a compassionate advocate for families navigating Texas family law.
