Types of Court Records: Family Court Records
Family court records may include restraining orders, child support orders, custody orders, divorce decrees, and similar documents. Family court records often represent the least happy and best-documented ending of a relationship between two people. Family court intervenes in cases where a couple chooses to annul a marriage or divorce because of cruel and inhuman treatment, abandonment, irretrievable breakup, adultery, imprisonment or separation (collectively referred to as “grounds for divorce”).
As mentioned above, our attorneys are often asked how long a criminal conviction or other lawsuit will remain on my record. This is because in our modern society, a criminal record can hamper opportunities for housing, employment, education, and in some serious cases even cherished rights like the right to vote. For this reason, we will focus our answers in this section on how long different types of criminal records stay on your record and how they can be removed.
What does the Texas Public Records Act say?
Under the Texas Public Records Law, you do not have to be a resident to receive records. The documents must be presented to you within ten days or you must be informed in writing when the documents are available.
If the agency denies your application, they must submit a written waiver to the Attorney General. This is an advantage because it means that the authority does not simply automatically reject requests for file inspection.
B. FBI Criminal Record Inquiry
If you have a criminal history that spans multiple states or you are unsure about what you have, an FBI background check may be helpful . The process for obtaining your criminal record from the FBI is similar to obtaining your criminal record from the Texas DPS. However, an FBI records review searches your records across the country and is therefore generally more complete. To get your FBI crime report, you can request it directly from the FBI or use an FBI-approved channel. The service the FBI offers is called Identity History Summary Checks. To submit your application directly through the FBI, you must follow the steps below:
- Complete the Applicant Information Form
- Request a set of your fingerprints using Form FD-258
to
- Send a payment of $18.00
- Review the Identity History Summary Request Checklist to ensure everything is included