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

Substance abuse can be devastating to families.  Texas family law recognizes the risk to children from parental substance abuse and seeks to protect them. Termination of Parental Rights One of the most severe potential consequences of substance abuse is termination of parental rights.  The court may terminate the parental rights of a parent who is the cause of a child being born addicted to alcohol or an illegal controlled substance.  Additionally, a court may order termination of parental rights if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the parent used a controlled subs ..read more

Parties to a Texas divorce may enter into an “agreement incident to divorce” regarding property division, liabilities, and spousal maintenance.  If the court finds the agreement’s terms are just and right, they become binding and the court may set forth the agreement or incorporate it by reference in the final divorce decree.  Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 7.006.  A former husband recently appealed a postdivorce property division order that found the marital home was the wife’s separate property, based on an agreement between the parties. According to the appeals court’s opinion, the ag ..read more

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

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

If a parent does not comply with a Texas custody or child support order, the other parent may seek enforcement of the court order and, in some cases, request the parent be held in contempt.  A father recently challenged an order granting the mother’s motion to enforce the divorce decree. When the parties divorced, one of their two children was still a minor.  Pursuant to the divorce decree,  the parties were required to equally share health care costs, the cost of a vehicle, and college fund for the minor child.  The decree also ordered the father to pay for the minor child ..read more

Pursuant to Tex. Fam. Code § 153.432, a grandparent who meets certain requirements has standing to file suit for possession or access to their grandchild.  The grandparent must sign an affidavit “on knowledge or belief” that alleges that denial of possession or access would significantly impair the physical health or emotional well-being of the child and provides supporting facts.  The trial court then has to determine if those allegations would be sufficient to grant possession or access under Section 153.433. If not, the trial court must dismiss the grandparent’s suit. Parents have ..read more

A court may render orders to enforce or clarify the property division in a Texas divorce decree, but generally may not render an order that makes substantive changes to the property division once it is final.  A former husband recently challenged a clarification order, arguing it improperly modified the decree. Divorce Decree According to the appeals court, the parties were married for more than 15 years when they got divorced in 2018.  The agreed divorce decree referenced a “privately held compan[y]” that employed them both.  The decree awarded all ownership interest in the com ..read more

A spouse paying Texas spousal maintenance may seek modification if there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances, which may include significant change in their income.  In a recent case, a former husband challenged a modification award based on the modified amount of maintenance as well as the court’s denial of his request to apply the modification retroactively. The parties’ 2011 Agreed Final Divorce Decree ordered the husband to pay $1,150 in monthly spousal maintenance until the wife remarried or died or until her disability was removed or the trial court otherwise ..read more

The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (“UCCJEA”), codified in Chapter 152 of the Texas Family Code addresses how to determine jurisdiction in custody matters involving more than one state.  Generally, a Texas trial court that made a custody determination consistent with § 152.201 or 152.203 retains continuing jurisdiction until a court makes certain determinations regarding a lack of significant connection to the state or residence.  Tex. Fam. Code § 152.202. In a recent case, a mother appealed following a modification, arguing the trial court had not acquired cu ..read more