Understanding Lease Renewal in Texas

When families go through the transition of divorce, custody changes, or other familial events, stability is often the ultimate goal. As a repercussion of the sensitive nature of these changes, even something as seemingly straightforward as lease renewal laws can have significant impacts on housing situations. With comprehensive Texas lease renewal laws in mind, you can find a degree of ease in this process, but by no means should you think that it is low in risk.

Can a Lease be Renewed Automatically?

Although Texas lease renewal laws may be more straightforward than other aspects of renting, there are still some guidelines as to how leases can be renewed. Many Texans default to the idea that allowing a lease to continue its term past the end date could mean that the lease has been renewed for automatic terms-this is not always the case. If you and your landlord sign a lease stipulating that the lease can be terminated or extended without any intervention, then you’re off the hook. However, the way in which a lease can be renewed in a manner that makes it the same risk as a lease for a 10-month term is if your landlord does not wish to initiate a new lease. Let’s run through some examples of how this might work.

Example One

Suppose that your lease is up in a month but you haven’t decided if you want to extend the lease. Even if your landlord does not wish to extend the lease without intervention, you’re not automatically on the hook for signing a new lease. In the state of Texas, leases are considered month-to-month agreements, even if you signed a year-long lease. This means that when your lease is up, you can decide whether or not you wish to renew it with no repercussions.

Example Two

Despite having the ability to determine whether you’d like to renew or not, assume that you simply forget to let your landlord know. While it is definitely less than ideal to forget about such things, you’re still in the clear. You are within your rights to assume that your lease has not been automatically renewed, and if your landlord attempts to hold you to the terms of your old lease, you can dispute it. It is important to remember that Texas lease renewal laws supersede any lease specific agreement between a landlord and a tenant; automatically renewed leases are only ever created if they are specified.

Why You Need a Lawyer Whenever You Rent

While you may be able to navigate Texas lease renewal laws, the fact is that the beginning stages are defined largely by agreements that you make with your landlord. That’s why we recommend that anyone who wishes to rent consult with an experienced attorney to make sure that their interests are protected. Remember, Scott L. Levine & Associates specializes in real estate law-and we can help you navigate the complex world of rental agreements, whether you’re renewing a lease or getting out of your existing one.

Beginning  January 1, 2022, the August 17, 2021, revisions to Pennsylvania Child Support Guidelines will go into effect.

Notable changes include an all-new Basic Child Support Schedule (support table) under Pa.R.C.P. 1910.16-3, which sets forth the total child support for the combined net monthly income of the parties.

Additionally, there are changes to:

• the presumption of custodial time associated with the basic guidelines;
• imputed income;
• expenses and extra-curricular activities; and
• factors for deviation from the guidelines.

While the changes themselves constitute a material and substantial change in circumstances under which a current Order may be reviewed, the changes may result in a (very) minimal potential change to many cases, while at certain income levels the updated guidelines produce substantial differences to a support calculation.

Also, changing in Allegheny County beginning on January 4, 2022, for new support cases will be the implementation of a two-step process for conferences/hearings. Previously, in Allegheny County, the support conference and support hearing were scheduled for the same day. Moving forward these matters will be handled separately.

The support conferences will continue to be held remotely by telephone (until further notice), but if there is no agreement at the conference level, rather than proceeding directly to a support hearing on the same day, the parties will be given a date for a subsequent support hearing, before a hearing officer to be held in person within two weeks from the date of the conference.

For more information about these changes, how they may impact your support case and to calculate the amount of support owed or received, we are happy to speak to you. Feel free to call us at 412.303.9566.

When it comes to the theory behind providing meaningful legal counsel to a family law client, we really are talking about compassionate legal counsel. We are talking about making the right decisions for the family and providing information that is measurable and understandable for the family. When it comes to deciding what is the right decision, part of what the family is considering is cost. While price is not everything when it comes to selecting a family law lawyer, what the family perceives as the bottom line in what is being spent on legal matters is certainly important. One of the interesting factors that comes into play for families who are in the midst of family law matters is cost for legal counsel may be less than expected when a legal recruiter is involved. Certainly, people may wonder an awful lot about the payment methods of legal recruiters for what they do. More importantly, understanding how do legal recruiters get paid is a means by which a family may understand more about the legal recruiter when they are working with one and, thus, are empowered to make good choices about legal counsel.

From a recruiter perspective, there are generally two methods by which a legal recruiter is paid for its services. A legal recruiter may charge the lawyer a fee or the lawyer’s firm a fee to find and refer a qualified candidate. A legal recruiter may charge the candidate for their services. A legal recruiter may charge a mixture of both the candidate and the firm. The arrangement may be fixed or may depend on a percentage of the compensation paid to the lawyer at the new law firm. Legal recruiters may charge the lawyer a one-time fee for each introductory placement. The placement fee is usually a percent of the first year’s salary of the legal professional being placed in a position. In some cases, the fee is a multi-year schedule based on the salary being paid to the legal professional. It is also possible that the legal recruiter requires a monthly retainer fee be paid for a period of time during the recruiting process and then a placement fee can be charged once the placement has been made. So the placement fee may be in addition to the retainer.

Legal recruiters may charge candidates for their services. The fee may be used to cover everything from coaching during the interviewing process to resume preparation to review of the offer letter to other services that are provided through the recruiting process. The billing is often on an hourly basis, but it is important to identify the work being performed prior to charging a fee for services. In any case, the recruiter should disclose its fee arrangement to the firm and the candidate to avoid any conflict of interest. A recruiter may charge both the firm and the candidate for their services. A recruiter may choose to charge a flat fee or a fee that is scaleable based on certain factors such as level of service provided, place of employment or compensation level of job being filled. This fee arrangement could also include the firm paying a retainer to be worked off over time – in addition to the placement fee.

The information about how do legal recruiters get paid which is provided here on Family Law Matters is a good example of how we provide meaningful information to families dealing with family law matters. The information is also a good example of how our understanding of the profession and its associated concerns helps us help families when they choose a family law professional. Certainly, the person hurt the most by not understanding all the facets of a profession into which they are employing themselves while the families are being torn apart. When someone is involved in family law matters, they are often undergoing the most difficult times in their lives. While they are facing issues such as divorce, visitation, child support and other issues, they still need to understand the roles of different professionals who employ themselves (or are employed) to act as representatives in those matters. That holds true – for example – for legal recruiters.

The Family Division of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas has added newly elected Judges Judge Costa, Judge Henry-Taylor, Judge Korbel, Judge Middleman, Judge Sizemore and Judge Wagner to the Bench.

A great deal of family law crosses over with other aspects of the law. One example is non-solicitation agreements. Non-solicitation agreements (or clauses), are very popular as a restriction on employees when becoming employed by an organization. They can also be sources of litigations for many other reasons and in family law, they can become potential factors in disputes like divorce. A recent article that I’ve been reading for work titled “Negotiating the Legality of Non-Solicitation Agreements,” provides insight on the topic of how to navigate non-solicitation agreements. “While non-solicitation agreements can be effective tools in preventing the dissolution of business relationships,” it states, “they can also be problematic if not drafted properly from the outset.” Non-solicit and other employment contracts can end up being factors in family law business ownership issues such as divorce or separation or sometimes inheritance or gift distribution issues. Problems arise when an owner of a business or estate or organization is tied into a non-solicit agreement with somebody else. The article makes some valuable points about non-solicitation agreements. High net worth clients can often leverage their wealth to negotiate some alternative deal with respect to a non-solicitation agreement. In a divorce situation, for example, an attorney may need to get creative when negotiating a divorce settlement with a spouse who is subject to a restrictive covenant such as an agreement not to solicit clients. Family law issues involving this kind of agreement or clause in an employment relationship are often tangled and complex matters.

Further complicating the matters is the fact that there are many different types of non-solicitation agreements. One thing that I found interesting in the article was the discussion about stock, which can be an investment risk whether owned by a business owner or gifted or bequeathed to an heir. What happens to stock in a high net worth estate when there are non-solicit agreements, especially if the heirs of an estate own the stock? What if a high net worth spouse in a divorce will become entitled to the stock? A non-solicit agreement with an organization, business, employee or contractor can have long term ramifications for family law issues in an estate or divorce proceeding.

Scott L. Levine is very familiar with the intricacies of how to get around non-solicitation agreements on behalf of high net worth clients. He provides compassionate legal counsel to his clients in matters related to employment agreements and family law issues. His focus is on finding creative solutions and advising the best path forward for positive outcomes, while respecting the long-term goals of his clients with respect to their wealth and family legacy interests. As the article points out, “not all noncompete and non-solicitation clauses are enforceable,” so it’s important to get experienced legal representation before signing or not determining your rights and obligations under an agreement that you have signed. Family law cases can be sensitive and complicated, and you may not want to get trapped in a position where you didn’t understand your rights and obligations, or unintended consequences were not discussed.

Don’t let a long-term client or employee leave with the bulk of your business’ clients. This is why it’s important to have your agreements thoroughly evaluated if you think there is any chance of it being violated. Get the right kind of advice to prevent a violation. I have represented a number of clients in these situations, and am happy to discuss your legal options in either direction of non-compete and non-solicit agreements, whether in the context of estate settlements, divorces, or other situations.

First, let me say this: When you are dealing with legal issues, particularly those of family law so important to those with children, you need quality legal counsel. That’s what I provide at the Law Office of Scott L. Levine. When it comes to how to understand an important legal document in housing court, let me say that I am not a housing court lawyer. You need someone who specializes in handling housing court issues. Let us say that you are not required to spend a lot of time looking up how to handle issues associated with an order to show cause housing court in Pittsburgh that are not directly related to what you seek to accomplish from a legal standpoint. There are housing court resources and several other legal resources in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to do so. There is a larger context for how finding real estate for sale or lease can be problematic. That larger context? Understanding court orders, the impact they can have on your family, and how you deal with them when in certain scenarios.

What is an order to show cause? In a housing court, this is an order from the court commanding someone to appear at a certain time, at a specific location, and before a judge or magistrate for a specific purpose. In the housing court, such an order could involve a landlord-tenant issue, typically over paying too much rent. In our local court, defaulting on rent could mean an order to leave a property if you cannot pay to stay. These cases are common in struggling areas and may result in a housing unit being vacated.

But understand that getting a court order to show cause means that you have been commanded to appear in court, under penalty of arrest if you do not get there on time. It means that you have some legal action that must be dealt with. Within the context of a divorce, child support or family law question, failing to show up could impact that part of your life and your family’s life.

Why does this matter to you? In the real estate context, understanding how to deal with an issue like an order to show cause matters, because it could mean that a landlord could toss you out in a divorce situation. Just because you have an order and a command to appear on a date does not mean that you have lost the right to the property and to not be evicted from it. But should it appear? Yes. If it is a legitimate claim, you’ll want to appear. If it isn’t, you need to show cause to explain why you aren’t responsible for rent or why you should not otherwise face removal from the property.

The danger that exists with the order to show cause is something we often see in the law. Let’s say you are going through a divorce, and your spouse receives an order, then uses it against you in the family court system. What might happen once your spouse shows cause why the order was being levied? Well, it might change custody of children. It might change child support: If you’re bringing in more income than was previously stated to the court, you could face changes to your alimony and child support.

What do I do if I have an order to show cause? If you have never been served with an order to show cause and need to figure out what to do with one, you are likely in a housing court situation. It can be a complex matter to deal with if you aren’t prepared. We suggest hiring an attorney who understands how to deal with an order to show cause housing court, and can help you understand the implications of such a legal instrument so you never have to experience a custody change or to deal with variations in your alimony and child support payments. Use a housing attorney in order to avoid future harm to your family.

Can I mess it up? If you do not understand what to do with an order, there’s a chance that you could. The order could be dismissed… and something more permanent could take its place. Before you let that happen, consult a family law or housing attorney who can help you navigate your situation and who can help you avoid permanent harm from a housing court order.