You’re planning to file for divorce, and you want full custody of your children. You know that your spouse does not want them to live with him or her; they say it all the time. Their disrespect for the children is a big part of the reason that you want a divorce in the first place.

That said, you know that the divorce is going to get contentious. You think your spouse is going to fight for custody out of spite, just to keep you from getting what you want. You also know that they’ll say almost anything to make that happen.

As a result, you want to use your phone to record them without telling them that you’re doing it. This will give you some evidence you can use to show how they really feel. Are you allowed to do this the next time that you call them?

You can. Under Texas law, you just need one of you to consent to the recording. This means that a third party cannot record a conversation between the two of you without your knowledge. However, if you are fine with the conversation being recorded, you can give consent to yourself and you do not need to get it from your spouse. This is true for phone calls, so make sure to call them before having what you believe to be the crucial conversation.

If you’re already thinking about issues like this, you know that this divorce could become quite contentious in the months to come. Make sure you are well aware of all of the legal rights and options you have.