CHRISTINA TILLINGER

FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY

17225 El Camino Real
Suite 410
Houston, Texas 77058
ISM
INDEPENDENT STUDY MENTORSHIP

An Advanced Academic course

designed for students wishing to
mentor an adult professional in a
chosen career. With the mentor
and teacher-facilitator, each
student will create a unique plan
of study and receive individual
instruction.
I chose to file and make a divorce case as my
project because divorce is one of the most
common cases in family law.

BUILDING A DIVORCE CASE

MY PROJECT
 #1: Family Law
 Adoption

KEY POINTS  Surrogacy

 Paternity

STUDY TOPICS  Juvenile law

 #2: What defines a divorce?

 Types of divorce

 #3: What is the process of divorce?

 Filing
 Petitioner vs. Response
 Cost

 #4: How are assets distributed during a

divorce?
 Child custody
 Jobs and income
 Unfit parents

 #5: Factors in a divorce

 Male vs. Female
 Sexuality
 Alcohol/drug abuse & addiction
RESEARCH
Which parent is more likely to get
custody?
What percentage of foster kids get
adopted before the age of 18?
What percentage of women who get
surrogates, have them by choice?
 Child Support vs. Deadbeat States

CURRENT EVENT Published: September 10, 2019

Summary: In recent events, child support has been a continuous debate, and major topic of
discussion in the legal world. This article specifically takes interest in the issue
of financially unstable mothers and “dead-beat” fathers. The racial issues regarding
child custody in the state of law has become a notable outlook on how much we truly value
the kids' lives and well-being. The article goes into detail discussing how non-white dads are
often immediately flagged as unfit parents, regardless of the mother’s behavior
and financial situation. This is unfair for the children who rightfully deserve a loving
parent during this extremely hard time in their life.

Connection: For my project, I have chosen to create a mock file of what a real divorce would
look like. If my path continues in the legal world, I know I would definitely want what's best
for the kids in every situation. In the case I'm constructing they’re maybe legal issues
regarding children which will be very interesting to see. Being able to make (or try to make)
the best decisions for the kids should always be a family law attorney’s priority upon custody
issues.

Personal Response: I believe this is an issue that is not discussed enough. People should not be
treated unfairly due to their income, race, or gender. It is very important that this issue is a
continued topic of discussion for the sake of the children being put in the correct home with
the best choice in parent.
PRODUCT SLIDE
This semester is will learning step by step how to file
a divorce case and the process of the case itself.
Gathering evidence, essential reason for divorce,
cost of a typical divorce, and factoring in children,
addiction, mental health, and assets are all a part
of this process. My physical product will the
file/binder from start to finish. The case is not real it
is simply a mock version of some of Mrs. Chistina
Tillinger's most common cases.
CONCLUSION
By the end of this semester I
hope to fully understand how to
file a case, and the process of a
divorce.
THANK YOU
I would like to thank my friend
Hailey for helping me seek-out
my mentor.
I would like to thank Mrs.
Tillinger for accepting this
mentorship and allowing me to
explore Family Law
I would like to thank Mrs.
Daffren for being a great
teacher
Blocking out this text because its annoying
me
WORK CITED
MLA Citation: Martin, Courtney E. “Child
Support vs. Deadbeat States.” The New
York Times, The New York Times, 10
Sept.
2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/
09/10/opinion/child-support-
states.html?rref=collection/timestopic/Ch
ild Custody
and Support&action=click&contentCollec
tion=timestopics®ion&module=stream_u
nit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3
&pgtype=collection.