At least in the counties contained within the Houston First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals, family court judges cannot grant relief unless there are pleadings asking for that relief or unless the issue was tried by consent. A recent case provides a surprisingly broad view of what constitutes a "pleading" that can justify granting relief not explicitly mentioned in the current petition. I represented the father who won on appeal in Flowers v. Flowers, 407 S.W.3d 452 (Tex. App. - Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, no pet.) and that case holds: 1.     A family court cannot grant relief unless there are pleadings asking for the relief or the issue was tried by consent.  The Rules of Civil Procedure apply in family cases, even those involving children. 2.     An issue is not tried by consent if it is never mentioned or discussed at trial. The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in May 2014 reaffirmed the basic notion that relief cannot be granted without pleadings requesting the relief or ... Read More >