Terms and Conditions
Effective as of May 25, 2018
As the owner of this website (the “Site”), Nacol Law Firm P.C., we understand that your privacy is of critical importance. This Privacy Policy describes what information we collect from you via the Site and how we use and disclose such information.
DISCLAIMER
The materials on this web site have been prepared by us for informational purposes only, do not constitute legal advice, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Nacol Law Firm PC. or any of our attorneys or clients, and are not guaranteed to be complete, correct, comprehensive or current. You should be aware that the law is constantly changing and varies by circumstance. Therefore, information on a given law or legal issue may not be current or apply to your particular situation. Receipt, use or review of this web site or any of the information contained on this web site does not, nor is it intended to, create or constitute an attorney-client relationship between you and The Nacol Law Firm PC. or any of the firm’s attorneys. You should not rely on any information contained in this web site without first seeking the advice of an attorney.
We would be glad to communicate with you concerning legal matters, but we cannot do so until we first know that doing so would not create a conflict of interest. If you communicate with us through this web site or otherwise in connection with a matter for which we do not already represent you, your communication may not be treated as privileged or confidential. You should not send any information to us until you have spoken with one of our attorneys and received authorization to send that information to us. Communications regarding matters for which we do represent you should be made with caution, as Internet e-mail is not secure, and you should avoid sending sensitive or confidential Internet e-mail messages unless they re adequately encrypted.
In some jurisdictions this web site may be considered advertising. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon written information about the qualifications and experience of our firm and its attorneys. We have attempted to comply with all known legal and ethical requirements in providing this web site. We do not intend to represent clients based upon their review of any portion(s) of this site that does not comply with legal or ethical requirements of any jurisdiction to which the site is subject. Some of the descriptions and some of the articles on this web site contain links to other resources on the Internet. Those links are provided as citations and aids to help you identify and locate other Internet resources that may be of interest, and are not intended to state or imply that we sponsor, are affiliated or associated with, or are legally authorized to use any trade name, registered trademark, logo, seal or official seal, or copyrighted symbol that may be reflected in the links.
Nothing in this web site is intended to compare the services of our firm to that of any other lawyer or firm or to imply specialization or certification by any organization not previously approved by the Texas State Bar Board of Legal Specialization.
To the extent the State Bar Rules in your jurisdiction require us to designate a principal office and/or a single attorney responsible for this web site, we designate The Nacol Law Firm PC. located at 8144 Walnut Hill Lane , Suite 1190, Dallas,TX 75231, USA as our principal office and we designate Mark A. Nacol as the attorney responsible for this web site.
ACCESS TO THIS SITE
Please read the terms of use of this site carefully. These terms may have changed since your last visit to this site. By use of this site, you indicate your acceptance of these terms.
The Firm may alter, suspend or discontinue this web site at any time for any reason, without notice or cost. The web site may become unavailable due to maintenance or malfunction of computer equipment or other reasons. From time to time, The Nacol Law Firm PC. may offer to provide information or materials via e-mail or otherwise to interested persons. The Nacol Law Firm PC. reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, to reject any requests for such information or materials, or to discontinue the providing of such information or materials to any person, for any reason whatsoever.
The Firm makes no representation that information on this web site is appropriate or available for use outside the United States. Those who choose to access this web site from outside the United States do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
This web site and its contents were created on behalf of The Nacol Law Firm PC. and are/will be copyrighted by The Nacol Law Firm PC.. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to view, store, print, reproduce and distribute material contained in this web site provided that a) none of the material is modified or altered and b) the Terms of Use are included with any materials distributed from this web site. Reproduction or distribution of any material from this web site for commercial purposes is prohibited without the express written permission of The Nacol Law Firm PC.. To obtain permission for the reproduction or distribution of material from this web site for commercial purposes, use the Contact Us link.
PRIVACY POLICY
Site Privacy Policy:
Since our web site permits individuals to communicate with us via e-mail, we have developed this Privacy Policy Statement to inform visitors to our web site of our policies and practices regarding such information. The user information requested on this web site is only used to enable us to track the distribution of the documents that we publish. Your personally identifiable information, including your address and email address, is used solely as a means of identification. We may use the information we collect when you register to send publications and to inform you about updates. You may unsubscribe from the list at any time by contacting us through the Contact Us link and typing the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject field.
We do not share information identifying a specific individual or e-mail with third parties except with prior consent or when necessary to protect our rights or property. We reserve all rights relating to the distribution of information collected where required by law. Information collected from persons who enter into an attorney-client relationship with us is covered by our law firm general privacy policy summarized herein.
Information We Collect:
As attorneys, we collect nonpublic personal information about our clients, from your accountants, insurance agents and other advisors, as well as from our clients. Such information may include your name, address, telephone number, and personal and family financial information.
Information We May Disclose and to Whom:
It is our policy not to disclose nonpublic personal information that we collect as described above on our clients and former clients to anyone, except as authorized by you or as required by law. In providing legal services to our clients, however, it may be necessary to disclose nonpublic personal information to non-affiliated persons that perform services or functions on our behalf, such as our central services vendor, your accountant, appraiser, actuary, insurance agent and expert witnesses. We may also be obligated to disclose any or all of the nonpublic personal information described above, as permitted by law. For example, we may be obligated under the law to disclose information in response to lawful requests from law enforcement agencies.
Our Use of Cookies
A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. Cookies may be either “persistent” cookies or “session” cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed. Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.
We use cookies for the following purposes:
(a) For authentication – we use cookies to identify you when you visit our website and as you navigate our website];
(d) For security – we use cookies as an element of the security measures used to protect user accounts, including preventing fraudulent use of login credentials, and to protect our website and services generally;
(c) For analysis – we use cookies to help us to analyze the use and performance of our website and services;
We use Google Analytics to analyze the use of our website. Google Analytics gathers information about website use by means of cookies. The information gathered relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of our website. Learn more from their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. To Opt-out: Download the browser plugin “Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on” here.
Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies and to delete cookies. The methods for doing so vary from browser to browser, and from version to version. You can however obtain up-to-date information about blocking and deleting cookies via these links:
(a) https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en (Chrome);
(b) https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences(Firefox);
(c) http://www.opera.com/help/tutorials/security/cookies/ (Opera);
(d) https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies (Internet Explorer);
(e) https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21411 (Safari); and
(f) https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10-microsoft-edge-and-privacy (Edge).
Please note that blocking cookies may have a negative impact on the functions of many websites, including our Site. Some features of the Site may cease to be available to you.
Interest-Based Advertising
Our website uses Google AdWords Conversion Tracking cookie to measure and optimize the performance and user experience related to our ads in Google Search or selected Google Display Network sites. Learn more about Google’s privacy policy here. To Opt-out Visit Google’s Ads Settings. To help understand your interests, Google and our other advertising partners will track your behaviour on our website and on other websites across the Internet using cookies.
By using this Site, you consent to the use of such cookies and the sharing of data captured by such cookies with Google, and our other third party partners.You can view, delete or add interest categories associated with your browser by visiting: https://adssettings.google.com.
For European Economic Area Residents
If you reside in a country in the European Economic Area (EEA), then under the GDPR and applicable data protection laws you have the rights, among other things, to access your personal data, have us erase it, and/or restrict its further processing. If you wish to access or delete your personal data (if any) maintained by us, you can contact us at any time.
Email Addresses
We may collect your email address, but only if you voluntarily provide it to us. If you have provided your email address to us, we promise to use it only for the purposes for which it is provided. We will not use your email address to contact you for unrelated reasons.
We will not share your email address with any third parties.
If you are a resident of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA), we do not wish to receive communications from you via our website contact forms. If you do provide your contact information or email address inadvertently,we will delete it. Telephone and in person office visits are the only acceptable communications Nacol Law Firm P.C. will allow from residents of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA).
Your Data Rights
If you have left comments on our website, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Sale of Business or Assets
In the event that the Site or substantially all of its assets is sold or disposed of as a going concern, whether by merger, sale of assets or otherwise, or in the event of an insolvency, bankruptcy or receivership, the information we have collected about you may be one of the assets sold or merged in connection with that transaction.
Changes to the Privacy Policy
We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. The most recent version of the Privacy Policy will always be posted on the Site, with the “Effective Date” posted at the top of the Policy. We may revise and update this Privacy Policy if our practices change, as technology changes, or as we add new services or change existing ones. If we make any material changes to our Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, or we are going to use any personal information in a manner that is materially different from that stated in our Privacy Policy at the time we collected such information, we will give you a reasonable opportunity to consent to the change. If you do not consent, your personal information will be used as agreed to under the terms of the privacy policy in effect at the time we obtained that information. By using our Site or services after the Effective Date, you are deemed to consent to our then-current privacy policy. We will use information previously obtained in accordance with the Privacy Policy in effect when the information was obtained from you.
Protecting the Confidentiality and Security of Nonpublic Personal Information:
We restrict access to nonpublic personal information about you to The Nacol Law Firm PC. employees and vendors or others, who are subject to our policies and attorney-client privilege, whom we determine have a legitimate law firm need to access such information. We maintain security procedures that are designed to protect our client data. We also educate our employees about the importance and meaning of, and necessity for, data security and confidentiality.
In all events,the state laws of Texas, U.S. Federal Laws and the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, as approved by the Texas Supreme Court, strictly apply to the protection of our clients’ confidences.
Contacting Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or the practices of this Site, please contact us at janice@nacollawfirm.com or call us at (972) 690-3333
Or write to us at:
The Nacol Law Firm PC
8144 Walnut Hill Lane
Suite 1190
Dallas, TX 75231
Love and Marriage ….and Divorce!
With the U.S. marriage rate at an all-time low, 51% of adults were married in 2011 (US Census Bureau), only 29% of all divorced adults say they would marry again with women definitely in the negative on remarriage. Americans are also not in a hurry to marry. The median age of first marriages is a record high of 29 for men and 27 for women (US Census Bureau).
So what about the 48% of adults currently married? A new divorce report by the Slater and Gordon Law Firm in England who surveyed 1000 divorcees has reflected some very interesting findings:
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The average person spends about 2 years thinking about getting a divorce before they file.
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During this time the average person spent 18 months really trying to fix their marriage and working to try to save the marriage.
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53% discussed divorce with someone besides their partner before filing.
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36% spoke to an attorney before deciding to file a divorce
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76% tried to fix their marriage problems before deciding on a divorce
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53% said their split was amicable and 45% said they are still friends
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31% have no contact with their previous spouse at all!
How would you fit into this survey?
The Nacol Law Firm PC has expressed 8 of the top causes of Divorce!
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Lack of communication: A successful relationship constantly keeps in touch! When there is a loss of open ended communication on all issues affecting the marriage, families may fall apart quickly. Share your feelings, tell your partner what is happening, and listen to your partner.
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Money and Finances: If there are constant money problems or major disagreements on financial issues, you may have a serious martial problem. A team effort at all times bodes for a better marriage.
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Alcohol and Drug Addiction: Addiction is one of the most damaging and challenging problems spouses will ever face in a marriage. Because additive behavior touches everyone in a family most marriages are severely damaged years before a decision is reached to end the marriage.
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Domestic Violence/ Intimate Partner Violence: Family Violence is the willful intimidation, physical and/or sexual assault & battery or serious mental and verbal abuse perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. The frequency and severity of domestic violence varies dramatically and may include physical or sexual violence, threats, and emotional abuse. The violence is often accompanied by irrational and controlling behavior and is intended to result in total dominance and control over the other spouse /intimate partner or other family members.
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Trust and Infidelity Issues: Do you truly trust your spouse? Are their jealousy issues that occur with one spouse when other people are involved in your lives? A successful marriage is very difficult absent trust. If you do not trust your spouse the marriage is vulnerable!
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Spouse cannot understand or fulfill your needs and desires: this includes personal and sexual needs and common courtesies to each other. We all have different needs and desires. If you or your partner won’t acknowledge each other’s needs and try to accommodate, the marriage is vulnerable!
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Inability to resolve conflict: Often couples have very serious trust issues with each other and cannot get past the needs of one vs the needs of the family. Smart couples will seek out a 3rd party “referee” to help resolve these differences before the marriage is irretrievable.
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Children: Enough said! The married couple must decide on a united front in child rearing and discipline. The child cannot be in charge or subject to multiple contradictory directives!
Deciding to divorce is a very sad and financially devastating family decision. If you and your spouse are still at the point to possibly change things for the better, explore all other opportunities! There was a reason for the initial attraction and your family will love you for it. Otherwise, consult a qualified legal professional who can help guide you through this trying period.
Domestic Violence / Intimate Partner Violence : Identify the Problem and Make it Stop!
Every day in the news on the internet, TV, and newspapers, we read how Domestic / Intimate Partner Violence affects women, men and children lives in very tragic ways. Many professional athletes have been exposed and many celebrities have professed their life changing experiences.
What is Domestic / Intimate Partner Violence ( IPV ) ? It is the willful intimidation, physical and sexual assault & battery or serious mental and verbal abuse perpetrated by one intimate partner against another.
The frequency and severity of domestic violence varies dramatically and may include physical or sexual violence, threats, and emotional abuse. The violence is often accompanied by irrational and controlling behavior and is intended to result in total dominance and control over the other intimate partner or the other family members.
Current Domestic/ Intimate Partner Violence Statistics:
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Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten. Everyday more than 3 women are murdered by their intimate partners.
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1 in 4 women will experience domestic/intimate partner violence in her lifetime. Women ages 18 to 24 are the greatest risk of being victims of domestic/intimate partner violence.
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Every year, over 3 million children witness domestic violence in the home.
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Children who live in domestic violence homes suffer high rates of abuse and neglect (30-60%)
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Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.
The Worse Fact: Most of all Domestic / Intimate Partner Violence Incidents Are Never Reported! These Abusers are getting away with this abuse and can murder their loved ones at any time!
Legally, the abuser may be deterred from continuing this degrading, hurting behavior against his intimate partner and other family members. But these victims need help. Many times, the domestic violence victims are so weak and beaten down mentally and physically that they cannot help themselves.
Look for warning signs of abuse in relatives, friends and neighbors. Remember: if you are a friend, be their friend. Do something to disclose the abuse and danger in their lives! You may save a life!
Texas Divorce – How Long Will It Take to Get Divorced and Other Important Facts
To file for a divorce in Texas, you must be a Texas Resident for 6 months, and you must have lived within the county you plan to file in for at least 90 days immediately prior to filing of your divorce petition. Time spent by a Texas resident outside of Texas, while in the military, satisfies the residency requirement in Texas for a divorce.
Texas does not recognize legal separations.
It is possible to get a divorce even though the other party does not want the divorce to take place. Texas is a “no fault divorce state.” “No fault” means that one spouse does not have to prove the other spouse has done anything wrong in order to obtain a divorce. You cannot be held to a marriage because your spouse does not want to sign or refuses to participate in the divorce process. The court will enter divorce orders even if the other party refuses to sign them.
Texas requires a minimum 60 day waiting period before any divorce can be finalized. The 60 day period begins to run from the time the Original Petition for Divorce is actually filed with the court. In other words, the shortest time it will take to finalize a divorced in Texas is 61 days. On occasion, in domestic violence cases, there is an exception to the 60 day rule. If the parties are in agreement, a divorce proceeding can be finalized immediately following the sixty-day waiting period. On average, however, the time period is more likely to run 90 to 120 days in an uncontested divorce due to the crowding of court dockets and the time necessary for counsel to draft necessary legal documents and obtain the agreement of both parties regarding the wording of the final documents. If the parties are not in agreement, the time necessary to finalize the divorce will depend on the conduct of both parties and their attorneys, the court’s schedule, the matters in controversy and the complexity of the contested issues. From start to finish, the divorce process may go through a number of phases which might include temporary orders, exchange of financial information, psychological evaluations (in child custody cases), alternative dispute resolution, trial, and appeal. A divorce in which the parties are deeply in opposition to an agreement on some or all of the core issues may take anywhere from several months to several years to complete.
As to the division of marital assets, Texas is a community property state. For more information on community and separate property, see our blog, Divorce: What is separate property and what is community property.
It is important to remember that, although the statutory waiting period to finalize a divorced is 60 days, it is more likely than not that your divorce will “not” be finalized on the 61st day following the filing of your petition for divorce.
