TEXAS BAR EXAM - FAMILY LAW 2025 WITH 100%
ACCURATE SOLUTIONS
SMC Question - Parents wants to modify conservatorship. Standard? (Also, what if some evidence of
abuse?) - ✅✅✅CORRECT -- Modification must be in BIOC.
- Must be material + substantial change in circumstances.
- Court MUST consider intentional use of abusive physical force by a party against a child in appointing
managing conservator. (Abuse deemed prima facie material and substantial change if there is a
conviction or an order of deferred adjudication with regard to the offending conservator for an offense
of abuse of a child or family violence).
Child Support Question - Outside Guidelines - Amount? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -- Presumption that the
guidelines are in BIOC.
- Net resources capped at 8550 (9/1/19 9200) (Parent making more than cap, apply guidelines to first
cap amount, then find circumstances to justify additional amount)
- 20%/1; 25/2; 30/3; 35/4; 40/5+; can't be over 50%.
- Court considers factors:
(1) Guidelines
(2) Needs of Child
(3) Ability to pay
(4) Resources available
(5) Amount of possession/access to child
- No deviation w/o justifying circumstances
Child Support Question - Outside Guidelines - Reasons? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -- Court must issue findings
of fact if outside guidelines
- Court must state whether application of guidelines is unjust or inappropriate
- Court should state:
(1) Net Resources of BOTH Parents
(2) % Court actually applied
,(3) Specific reasons why varied
Options available when parent doesn't pay child support... - ✅✅✅CORRECT -CW-MALL
(contempt, withhold, money, assets, license, lien)
(1) Income withholding order from SAPCR court. (50% of obligor's disposable earnings; court can also
order income withheld for liquidation of arrearages)
(2) Suspension of licenses. (Typically driver's license and professional license; if THREE MONTHS behind
and have opportunity to make payment under repayment schedule)
(3) Child Support Lien. (statutory lien by operation of law for all amounts of overdue child support,
automatically attaches to nonexempt personal property and non-Homestead property).
(4) Enforce arrearages as a money judgment. (any periodic support payment not timely automatically
constitutes final judgment for the amount due. Judgment can include 6% interest).
(5) Freeze Assets. (Deliver notice of lien to financial institutions that hold obligor's assets).
(6) Contempt Order. (After notice and hearing, court order enforced by contempt, punishable by county
jail for 6 months and/or $500 fine -- Inability to pay is affirmative defense).
Parental rights terminated - on appeal, what does the court look for? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -Court must
determine whether the factfinder could have found C&CE that
(i) there was a statutory ground for termination
(ii) termination was in BIOC
- Only one ground req'd and evidence must be legally sufficient (fairly low bar)
,Termination Question - What are the grounds - ✅✅✅CORRECT -Most typical grounds are "abuse"
and "neglect."
Abuse - Parent engaged in conduct or knowingly placed child w/ person who engaged in conduct that
endangered the child's physical or emotional well-being.
Neglect - Knowingly placed or allowed the child to remain in conditions or surroundings that endangered
the child's physical or emotional well-being.
SMC Question - Parents gives child to other relatives for over a year and now wants child back. What
should the court do? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -- Parental Presumption (BIOC served by appointing parent as
sole or joint MC)
- Rebut this by:
(1) Appointment not in BIOC b/c appointment would impair child's health or emotional development
(2) parent voluntarily relinquished care, control, and possession of the child for one year or more and
appointment of parent not in BIOC
(3) If one of the 21 grounds for termination applies
- If none apply, presumption applies.
Access Question - Relatives denied access. What should the court do? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -- In TX, only
parties besides parents who are statutorily allowed to petition for reasonable possession and access are
GPs and siblings.
- Troxel v. Granville - other parties unlikely to succeed.
- GPs must claim denial would significantly impair child's health or emotional well-being.
SMJ/JMC Question - History of family violence and one parent wants SMC while other wants JMC. What
should the court do? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -- Primary consideration is BIOC.
- Court is *required* to consider evidence of intentional use of abusive physical force by one parent
against the other.
- Statute forbids JMC if history or pattern of physical abuse.
- Usually, if one parent granted SMC, other parent is named possessory conservator, w/ visitation rights
along lines of standard possession order.
, - BUT, if physical abuse, court may not allow parent to have access to the child if history/patter of family
violence in the two years preceding filing of suit shown by preponderance of the evidence, UNLESS
(i) awarding access will not endanger child's health or emotional welfare + in BIOC, AND
(ii) enters a possession order designed to protect the safety and well-being of the child and any person
who has been a victim of family violence.
Couple wants to get married. What do they need? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -(1) Marriage License - couple
desiring to enter into ceremonial marriage must obtain a marriage license. If no ceremony held before
90th day after license issued, the license expires. Must wait 72 hours after license issued and the date of
marriage.
(2) Must be 18+
(3) Ceremony
When may a couple bypass the 72 hour waiting period? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -(1) Armed forces or
employed by DoD
(2) Completion of a premarital education course
(3) Court waiver
Will and I divorce. When I can marry the rich daddy who stole me away? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -Gotta
wait 30 days after divorce decree is issued.
- But you could re-marry Will anytime.
- Rich daddy can void the marriage if within 1 yr and you don't live with rich daddy after he finds out.
Couple has a ceremony, but didn't have a marriage license. Is the marriage valid? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -
Yes, the ceremonial marriage will still be valid.
What kind of ceremony is required? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -No particular form.
ACCURATE SOLUTIONS
SMC Question - Parents wants to modify conservatorship. Standard? (Also, what if some evidence of
abuse?) - ✅✅✅CORRECT -- Modification must be in BIOC.
- Must be material + substantial change in circumstances.
- Court MUST consider intentional use of abusive physical force by a party against a child in appointing
managing conservator. (Abuse deemed prima facie material and substantial change if there is a
conviction or an order of deferred adjudication with regard to the offending conservator for an offense
of abuse of a child or family violence).
Child Support Question - Outside Guidelines - Amount? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -- Presumption that the
guidelines are in BIOC.
- Net resources capped at 8550 (9/1/19 9200) (Parent making more than cap, apply guidelines to first
cap amount, then find circumstances to justify additional amount)
- 20%/1; 25/2; 30/3; 35/4; 40/5+; can't be over 50%.
- Court considers factors:
(1) Guidelines
(2) Needs of Child
(3) Ability to pay
(4) Resources available
(5) Amount of possession/access to child
- No deviation w/o justifying circumstances
Child Support Question - Outside Guidelines - Reasons? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -- Court must issue findings
of fact if outside guidelines
- Court must state whether application of guidelines is unjust or inappropriate
- Court should state:
(1) Net Resources of BOTH Parents
(2) % Court actually applied
,(3) Specific reasons why varied
Options available when parent doesn't pay child support... - ✅✅✅CORRECT -CW-MALL
(contempt, withhold, money, assets, license, lien)
(1) Income withholding order from SAPCR court. (50% of obligor's disposable earnings; court can also
order income withheld for liquidation of arrearages)
(2) Suspension of licenses. (Typically driver's license and professional license; if THREE MONTHS behind
and have opportunity to make payment under repayment schedule)
(3) Child Support Lien. (statutory lien by operation of law for all amounts of overdue child support,
automatically attaches to nonexempt personal property and non-Homestead property).
(4) Enforce arrearages as a money judgment. (any periodic support payment not timely automatically
constitutes final judgment for the amount due. Judgment can include 6% interest).
(5) Freeze Assets. (Deliver notice of lien to financial institutions that hold obligor's assets).
(6) Contempt Order. (After notice and hearing, court order enforced by contempt, punishable by county
jail for 6 months and/or $500 fine -- Inability to pay is affirmative defense).
Parental rights terminated - on appeal, what does the court look for? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -Court must
determine whether the factfinder could have found C&CE that
(i) there was a statutory ground for termination
(ii) termination was in BIOC
- Only one ground req'd and evidence must be legally sufficient (fairly low bar)
,Termination Question - What are the grounds - ✅✅✅CORRECT -Most typical grounds are "abuse"
and "neglect."
Abuse - Parent engaged in conduct or knowingly placed child w/ person who engaged in conduct that
endangered the child's physical or emotional well-being.
Neglect - Knowingly placed or allowed the child to remain in conditions or surroundings that endangered
the child's physical or emotional well-being.
SMC Question - Parents gives child to other relatives for over a year and now wants child back. What
should the court do? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -- Parental Presumption (BIOC served by appointing parent as
sole or joint MC)
- Rebut this by:
(1) Appointment not in BIOC b/c appointment would impair child's health or emotional development
(2) parent voluntarily relinquished care, control, and possession of the child for one year or more and
appointment of parent not in BIOC
(3) If one of the 21 grounds for termination applies
- If none apply, presumption applies.
Access Question - Relatives denied access. What should the court do? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -- In TX, only
parties besides parents who are statutorily allowed to petition for reasonable possession and access are
GPs and siblings.
- Troxel v. Granville - other parties unlikely to succeed.
- GPs must claim denial would significantly impair child's health or emotional well-being.
SMJ/JMC Question - History of family violence and one parent wants SMC while other wants JMC. What
should the court do? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -- Primary consideration is BIOC.
- Court is *required* to consider evidence of intentional use of abusive physical force by one parent
against the other.
- Statute forbids JMC if history or pattern of physical abuse.
- Usually, if one parent granted SMC, other parent is named possessory conservator, w/ visitation rights
along lines of standard possession order.
, - BUT, if physical abuse, court may not allow parent to have access to the child if history/patter of family
violence in the two years preceding filing of suit shown by preponderance of the evidence, UNLESS
(i) awarding access will not endanger child's health or emotional welfare + in BIOC, AND
(ii) enters a possession order designed to protect the safety and well-being of the child and any person
who has been a victim of family violence.
Couple wants to get married. What do they need? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -(1) Marriage License - couple
desiring to enter into ceremonial marriage must obtain a marriage license. If no ceremony held before
90th day after license issued, the license expires. Must wait 72 hours after license issued and the date of
marriage.
(2) Must be 18+
(3) Ceremony
When may a couple bypass the 72 hour waiting period? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -(1) Armed forces or
employed by DoD
(2) Completion of a premarital education course
(3) Court waiver
Will and I divorce. When I can marry the rich daddy who stole me away? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -Gotta
wait 30 days after divorce decree is issued.
- But you could re-marry Will anytime.
- Rich daddy can void the marriage if within 1 yr and you don't live with rich daddy after he finds out.
Couple has a ceremony, but didn't have a marriage license. Is the marriage valid? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -
Yes, the ceremonial marriage will still be valid.
What kind of ceremony is required? - ✅✅✅CORRECT -No particular form.
