Thornton, TX Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

You should consult a lawyer who is experienced in immigration law. I think the revocation question would only arise if there were a claim that the marriage was a fraud in some way. But check with an expert.

The term "joint will" has legal meaning and is essentially a contractual Will. Ultimately, a contract with a spouse regarding child support or possession and access would not be binding. A court will always have the final word because judges are bound to issue a final order in the best interest of the children in a suit affecting parent-child relationships (custody suit).  However, you and your husband can come to an agreement regarding your children during a divorce and seek Court approval to make it a final/court order.  A court will normally approve your agreement unless the Court decides the agreement would not be in the children's best interest. In sum, you cannot contractually Will your child and have it be binding on a Court.    For example, I draft a Will and name my sister as guardian of my children if something should happen to me. I die five years from now and my sister is a homeless drug addict and I never changed my Will. My perfect brother files for custody of my children. My drug addict sister is not going to win custody against my brother in a custody battle despite what my Will states. Likewise, if the father of my children is still living, then neither of them would win against the father in the custody battle, Unless the father is also unfit, a parent will always take legal precedent.  As to joint Wills, these are not used very often anymore as they have many potential problems. There are legal alternatives to contractual Will. For instance, an irrevocable trust. I practice in areas of family law, real property law, small business, and estate planning.  As your issues overlap many of these areas, I would suggest you make an appointment for a consultation before you enter into a joint will.  We offer phone consultations for those in the state that live too far to make it to our office in Plano, Texas. Initial consultations are also offered at a reduced rate.

You don't have to sign a declaration of marriage to be married by common law in Texas. However, if she was already married to someone else, just cohabiting with you and holding herself out as married to you doesn't make her a bigamist. Likewise, cohabiting with the next guy doesn't make her a bigamist even if she's married to you by common law. You can't get married by common law if you're already married. Even if she married someone else formally after she split with you, you're very, very unlikely to get a prosecutor to charge her with bigamy. Your right to claim common law marriage will end two years after the split if you haven't filed for divorce by then.