Marriage of Karzai CA4/3

FACTS

Mateen and Najwa were married for 22 years, and they have one daughter and one son. In 2021, Najwa filed a petition for dissolution of marriage. I.

THE DVRO

On October 10, 2022, the court issued a three-year DVRO against Mateen, protecting Najwa and their two children. Among other things, Mateen was ordered to not contact the children and to stay 100 yards away from them and their schools. When the DVRO was issued, the parties’

1 As is customary where the parties share a surname, we refer to them by their first names for ease of reading and clarity. 2 All further statutory references are to the Family Code unless otherwise stated.

2 daughter was 17 years old, a first-year college student, and would turn 18 years old the following month. In granting the DVRO, the court found Najwa credibly described an incident when Mateen struck her, which also was corroborated by Mateen’s own testimony. The court likewise found Najwa credibly described Mateen’s threats and name-calling as well as an incident where Mateen placed his hands on their son in anger. The court further noted an incident where the son “had to restrain [Mateen] from the daughter in some way, again indicating…