Bucket List Wills

We want you to be able to control the cost and stress of your divorce. This has been almost impossible until now. HillerLaw introduces “NonToxicDivorce”, a system where a Private Judge(PJ) meets with all parties right when your case starts. The PJ limits your attorney's fees, and limits what your...

Family Law in the 21st century: There's a lot to unpack, and the situations are getting more complicated. We've come a long way from the antiquated English concepts of lineage, blood descendants, and the divine right of kings. Okay, fine—I don't have a king's divine right, and democracy has taken...

Due to our national crisis, we have pulled back a little on our baseball-themed blogs. Mostly, we want to keep you up-to-date with our coronavirus strategies. First and foremost, the team at Hiller Law hopes you, your family, your friends and those you work with stay well during this pandemic.  V...

In my first blog, I wrote about the Astros' “electronic sign stealing.” While I said that it was wrong of them to do this, I also said that perhaps their punishment was too much. There are many people, particularly players on other teams, who think the punishment wasn't enough.  Bottom line? The ...

Today's blog is a continuation of my first blog, which will likely trigger continuing blogs on similar subjects. The general theme of my first blog is how to achieve fairness in life and in the law, especially estate planning and family law. In my first blog, I discussed how the Houston Astros ba...

When people ask me where I'd like to be when I die, I always answer the same way: at a baseball game, surrounded by family and friends. For years I've been trying to enjoy my law practice, and I enjoy it; however, it has been mostly family law, which is certainly difficult to enjoy all the time. ...

Children for Tomorrow is a non-profit organization that helps child victims of emotional and psychological abuse. It has been around over 10 years, and it has a number of programs. The most well-known is called the LEAP Program. Their programs are for underprivileged or disadvantaged children. Th...

Co-parenting means that each parent commits to do his or her best to work with the other parent to raise the children to be the healthiest and most secure people they can be. Co-parenting is not perfect, but studies show that the children of parents who work together in raising them are emotional...

Often one spouse has heard about and wants to do collaborative divorce and the other spouse either hasn't heard about Collaborative Divorce or has heard some incorrect information about it and doesn't think they want to use the Collaborative process. Because of this, the conversation is delicate....

The Process Options for Divorce: Divorce Litigation and Collaborative Divorce Does control over the outcome of your case matter to you? Divorce Litigation means letting a judge or jury make the decisions regarding your family's future. Litigation is sometimes necessary or unavoidable. However, gi...

One of the things about reconciliation law is that it doesn't sound like it's really possible to legally require somebody to reconcile, but that's not necessarily what you mean. I'll give you some examples. For example, Texas has a counseling statute that a lot of people are not that familiar wit...

Longtime Houston Family Law Attorney Michael Hiller has opened a second office in Austin Texas.  Hiller is board certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.  He is expanding his practice to include the Austin area with a new Austin location at 1717 West 6th Street Suite 31...

The Texas Family Code states that property possessed by either spouse during or on dissolution of marriage is presumed to be community property. Clear and convincing evidence is necessary to counter the community property and establish that it is separate property.  Clear and convincing evidence ...

Listening is a Critical Negotiation Skill First, it is correct that listening is a critical negotiation skill. Every negotiation adviser, from Roger Fisher (author of Getting to Yes) to Jim Camp (Start with No) agrees on that. And, of course, as many have found out, easier said than done. Despite...

Setting Reasonable Expectations One of the most important roles of a lawyer is as an agent of reality.  Lawyers should not promise the entire universe when all they can deliver is a marble size rock.  Clients should not expect lawyers to do the impossible.  Unrealistic expectations are bad and sh...

1. Listening to What Triggers You A hot button or trigger word can be words, a tone of voice, or a particular way someone conveys body language that sets you off. Everyone has different hot buttons and trigger words that can cause them to become angry. When we are feeling triggered we automatical...

Quotations from Abe Lincoln on Conflict Resolution Beginning as a trial lawyer, Ol' Abe Lincoln recognized that trial work should be approached with the goal of settlement, rather than creating new conflicts. He figured out how to achieve that goal within the justice system.  We best know Abraham...

Temporary Orders are important, whether in an original divorce action or modification. The focus of this blog is on modification cases.  The reasons temporary orders are important are as follows: Temporary orders represent the decision of the court on the contested issues presented at a t...

When you walk down the aisle and say “I do,” the idea of getting divorced may seem unlikely. But if you do end up heading to a family court judge, exactly when you get your divorce finalized could have a big impact under the new tax plan. San Jose State University professor Annette Nellen teaches...

Marriage booster clauses are clauses in prenuptial and postnuptial agreements that “boost” the marriage. In the marriage and relationship education (MRE) world, it is understood that all relationships can be improved through the learning of skills.  These skills are primarily communication, confl...

The first thing is look for an attorney who's not known to run to court every single moment anything happens. You're going to need some protections, but you also need someone who can think a little bit. Many times, instead of a protective order, we've gone to court, and gotten a petition for extr...

Saving your Marriage vs Divorce Divorce lawyers generally think that right after the holidays, couples say they've had enough and they start looking towards divorce. I do think there's some of that, but I also think that most people thought about it before the holidays and then they decide to act...

What About the Finances? One of the most Important questions to ask if you are thinking about a divorce is what about your finances? This is especially important if you have not been involved with the finances. That happens quite often, because there is usually one person in the marriage who is m...

Collaborative Divorce is an excellent option for managing the holiday season. With the help of a couple of professional lawyers, a mental health professional, and a financial advisor to guide you through the divorce process. The Collaborative Divorce process is a time in which you both can be civ...