Texas Appeals Court Husband Did Not Overcome Community Presumption in Divorce
McClure Law Group | Texas Divorce Attorney Blog
by Kelly McClure
1w ago
Community property is the property acquired by other spouse during the marriage, except separate property.  Tex. Fam. Code § 3.002.  Separate property is generally that property the spouse owned or claimed prior to the marriage, property acquired by gift, devise, or descent during the marriage, and personal injury recoveries with the exception of recovery for lost earning capacity during the marriage. There is a presumption that property possessed by either spouse during or on dissolution is community property.  This presumption can only be rebutted in a Texas divorce by clear a ..read more
Visit website
Texas Court Rejects Wife’s Argument Husband Sold Commercial Goodwill
McClure Law Group | Texas Divorce Attorney Blog
by Francesca Blackard
1w ago
The court must divide marital property in a just and right manner in a Texas divorce.  In some cases, the parties only have tangible or clearly identifiable assets such as real estate and back accounts.  In other cases, however, there may be more abstract assets involved.  A former wife recently challenged a property division, arguing the court had not properly divided the assets in light of the husband’s sale of commercial goodwill. The Husband’s Agreement The parties got married in 1998.  The husband worked as a financial advisor starting in the early 2000s.  He ente ..read more
Visit website
Meritorious Defense Requirement for Bill of Review for Default Texas Divorce
McClure Law Group | Texas Divorce Attorney Blog
by Kelly McClure
1M ago
When a party does not file an answer or participate in a Texas divorce proceeding, the court may issue a default judgment against them.  A mother recently challenged the default divorce decree entered against her through a petition for bill of review. A bill of review is brought when a party seeks to set aside a judgment that cannot be challenged by appeal or a motion for a new trial. A party seeking a bill of review generally must show that they have meritorious claim or defense they could not make due to an official mistake or the other party’s fraud, accident, or a wrongful act, with n ..read more
Visit website
Texas Divorce Involving Adultery
McClure Law Group | Texas Divorce Attorney Blog
by Francesca Blackard
3M ago
Although Texas has recognized no-fault divorce since 1970, it also still recognizes fault-based divorce on grounds including adultery, cruelty, and conviction of a felony. Proving an at-fault ground for divorce can affect property division, spousal maintenance, and other matters in a divorce. A spouse seeking divorce based on adultery must prove by “clear and convincing” evidence, beyond just suggestion and innuendo, that the other spouse had sexual intercourse with someone else during the marriage.  Evidence may include text or email messages, phone records, photos, or financial records ..read more
Visit website
Texas Appeals Court Reverses Restitution and Reconstitution of Community Estate
McClure Law Group | Texas Divorce Attorney Blog
by Francesca Blackard
3M ago
A party to a Texas divorce is entitled to reimbursement to the marital estate when community time, labor, or skills are used to benefit the other party’s separate estate beyond what is needed for maintenance of the separate property.  The trial court has broad discretion to apply equitable principles.  A former wife recently challenged a divorce decree that granted her former husband’s requests for reimbursement and reconstitution of the community estate. According to the appeals court’s opinion, the husband requested a disproportionate share of the community property and reimburseme ..read more
Visit website
Division of Military Retirement in a Texas Divorce
McClure Law Group | Texas Divorce Attorney Blog
by Kelly McClure
3M ago
A Domestic Relations (“DRO”) is often used in divorce to address the rights of the former spouse as an alternate payee to receive some or all of a participant’s benefits under a retirement plan.  A trial court generally does not have the authority to render orders after expiration of its plenary power over a final judgment.  If a Texas divorce decree becomes final and unappealable without rendering a DRO, then the trial court only has the authority to render a valid DRO upon a petition and service pursuant to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.  A judgment is rendered when the t ..read more
Visit website
Texas Court Denies Ex-Wife Postjudgment Interest on Accounts Awarded in Divorce
McClure Law Group | Texas Divorce Attorney Blog
by Kelly McClure
4M ago
Appeals of a Texas divorce can be lengthy and may sometimes result in a significant delay in a party receiving the assets they were awarded in the decree.  In some cases, courts may award postjudgment interest on a money judgment.  In a recent case, a Texas appeals court considered whether an award of a brokerage account in a divorce property division authorized postjudgment interest. Case History According to the appeals court’s opinion, the parties got married in the early 1990s and divorced in 2018.  The decree awarded the wife two investment accounts, together valued at $548 ..read more
Visit website
Texas Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Jury Charge in Divorce Case
McClure Law Group | Texas Divorce Attorney Blog
by Kelly McClure
5M ago
In a jury trial, the court must submit to the jury the instructions and definitions needed for it to render a verdict.  The court cannot comment directly on the weight of the evidence, but an incidental comment on the weight of the evidence may be acceptable.  Tex. R. Civ. P. 277. A husband recently appealed his divorce decree, arguing the trial court erred in failing to give a requested jury instruction and improperly commenting on the weight of the evidence. The Trial According to the appeals court, the husband petitioned for divorce in August 2019, seeking a disproportionate share ..read more
Visit website
Fraud on the Community in Texas Divorce
McClure Law Group | Texas Divorce Attorney Blog
by Francesca Blackard
5M ago
Spouses have a fiduciary duty toward each other with regard to the community estate and commit fraud on the community if they breach a legal or equitable duty in violation of the fiduciary relationship.  Fraud on the community often occurs when assets are transferred to a third party, but can also occur when it is unaccounted for. If a court determines a spouse committed fraud, it must determine the amount the community estate was depleted and the total value it would have had absent the fraud.  The trial court then divides the reconstituted estate in a just and right manner, which m ..read more
Visit website
Texas Court Made Improper Substantive Change to Property Division with Order Striking Dollar Amounts
McClure Law Group | Texas Divorce Attorney Blog
by Kelly McClure
5M ago
A trial court in a Texas divorce retains subject matter jurisdiction to enforce a decree or to clarify ambiguity in the decree.  Texas strongly favors finality of judgment, so the court may not make substantive changes to the property division in a divorce decree once it has become final.  The court does not have the authority to “amend, modify, alter, or change” the final property division despite errors in characterizing the property or applying the law.   The court may, however, issue orders to clarify an ambiguous decree or to enforce the decree.  A court interpret ..read more
Visit website

Follow McClure Law Group | Texas Divorce Attorney Blog on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR