Judge Marilea W. Lewis of the 330th Family District Court spoke at last night monthly meeting of the Metrocrest Republican club on all the things that passed through the legislature this year. Most are good, though it was the joke that you should lock up your daughters and your livestocks because the legislature is in session or that no life, liberty or property is safe while the legislature is in session. Sibling can now sue for access to other sibling. The Family Code was modified to take into account our military deployment of moms and dads, to put limitations on CPS to hasten to provide a safe, secured and stable environment for the child as soon as possible after the child is removed from the family, to admonish family violence victims the right to a protective order, to clarify that parental obligation to support a child does not stop even if the parental rights was terminated, ....

The statistic are alarming. Divorce rate is 52% in Dallas County compare to 51% nationwide. Less than one-third of our children are being raised in what would be considered traditional family, committed loving mom and dad.

Among a few other things I learned was that in case of child support and spousal maintenance, (we don't have alimony in Texas) you do not have homestead exception under the new federal bankruptcy bill that has just been passed and signed into law, ie. your house is not beyond the reach of the collection agency.