What does a divorce attorney wish you knew about divorce? Interview with Amber Shemesh,...

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"Unfortunately, a lot of people make mistakes that they’re not even aware that they’re making.” - Amber Shemesh, Partner at MAS Law Firm   In this episode we interview Amber Shemesh, a partner at MAS Law Firm and an excellent family law attorney in Dallas.   We cover some important topics, such as: How to choose a divorce attorney-and how picking the wrong one will cost you dearly When to use mediation in divorce How to determine if you should keep your house Why a No Fault divorce does not automatically mean a 50/50 split in assets (in Texas)   Regardless of where you live, you will get to hear inside information from a top family law attorney. So stick around and listen to the full interview. The full transcript and Amber’s contact information is below. She has so much helpful advice.   For those of you in the Dallas area, here’s Amber’s contact info: Amber Shemesh, Partner MAS Law Firm 972-789-1664 dallasarealaw.com   This transcript has been edited for clarity.   Shawn: Today I’m honored to have Amber Shemesh, an excellent Family Law attorney in Dallas and partner at MAS Law Firm. She is highly rated by her clients and does excellent work.   We are going to discuss some important topics in divorce relevant to you. Before we get started, Amber, thank you for being here.   Amber: Thank you for having me.   Shawn: Can you tell us a little bit about your background?   Amber: Absolutely. I grew up in Richardson, Texas. I am one of six siblings. My parents had a very nasty divorce, which I think paved the way for me to go to law school. I went to undergrad at UT in Austin, and went to New York and worked in advertising for a little bit, before deciding to go to law school in Miami, Florida.   After graduating law school, I came back to Texas, which is home, and decided that I wanted to do family law and to hopefully help some people that are going through the divorce process in a better way than my family went through it.   Shawn: It seems to me that a lot of people in this profession had that divorce experience that led them to help other people as a profession, afterwards. So when you say that you work in family law, what does that encompass? It’s not just divorce right?   Amber: That’s correct. It’s not just divorce. It can include child custody, for example. It’s called the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship. It can include premarital agreements or even post marital agreements, which are essentially contracts between the parties. It also includes any child support enforcement actions, it includes some temporary restraining orders, protective orders - in regards to family violence. So there’s a lot more than just divorce, and not to mention adoptions too.   Shawn: Can you talk a little bit about how Texas handles divorce and the laws in Texas, particularly as they apply to things like dividing property and custody?   Amber: Absolutely. Texas is a community property state. Typically, what happens in Texas is if a party files for divorce, the first thing we do usually is get what’s called an Inventory and Appraisement from both parties, and we go through that and figure out what all the assets and debts are. Texas being a community property state, anything and everything from the date that you are married, until the date that you’re divorced, is going to be divided 50/50, unless certain circumstances occur. One of those would be a history of family violence, for example.