Texas Divorce Attorney Blog

Texas Appeals Court Affirms Annulment Based on Fraudulent Inducement

Published on: March 13, 2025 | by Francesca Blackard

A court may grant a Texas annulment if the other party induced the petitioner into the marriage by fraud, duress or force and the petitioner did not voluntarily cohabit with the other party after learning about the fraud or being released from the force or duress. Tex. Fam. Code § 6.107. A former husband recently challenged an annulment, arguing there was insufficient evidence to support a finding of fraudulent inducement.

According to the appeals court, when the parties began dating in 2021, the husband was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a pending asylum case. The wife was a U.S. citizen.

They signed a premarital agreement and got married in a civil ceremony in October 2021. They talked about having a traditional ceremony in India with the husband’s family, but the husband would need a green card to be able to return to the U.S. if they went to India.

Texas Appeals Court Vacates Judgment Giving Grandmother Possession and Access to Grandchildren

Published on: March 7, 2025 | by Kelly McClure

A party must establish standing to maintain a lawsuit. If the party does not have standing, the court does not have subject-matter jurisdiction. The parties cannot waive subject matter jurisdiction. The Texas Family Code sets forth when a non-parent has standing to pursue access or pursue to a child. A non-parent seeking access or possession of a child must establish standing pursuant to the requirements set forth in the applicable statute.

Chapter 153 of the Texas Family Code sets forth when a grandparent has standing to pursue a claim for access or possession. Pursuant to § 153.432, a grandparent seeking possession or access must attach an affidavit alleging that denying them possession or access “would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional well-being” and state supporting facts. The court then determines if the facts would be sufficient to support possession or access under § 153.433 if true. The court may order possession or access under § 153.433 if at least one parent’s rights have not been terminated, the grandparent proves denying possession or access would significantly impair the child’s health or well-being by a preponderance of the evidence, and the grandparent’s child has been incarcerated for the three months before the petition, is incompetent, is deceased, or does not have possession or access to the child. In a recent case, a father and maternal grandmother each appealed a court order granting the grandmother possession and access.

Grandmother’s Petition

In December 2021, the grandmother petitioned for possession or access to her grandchildren. The father filed a counterpetition, asking for a judgment naming him sole managing conservator. In February 2022, the court rendered temporary orders naming the grandmother a “nonparent” possessory conservator with standard possession.

The trial court granted the grandmother possessory conservatorship after a trial. On the father’s motion, the trial court modified the judgment to remove the grandmother’s designation as “conservator,” but still granting her possession and access.

Texas Appeals Court Affirms Discharge of Receiver Years After Final Divorce Decree

Published on: February 28, 2025 | by Francesca Blackard

The court in a Texas divorce case may appoint a receiver to protect and preserve the property of the parties. TEX. FAM. CODE § 6.502(a)(5). The receiver only has the powers authorized by the court. The receiver’s role is to receive and preserve the property for all interested parties’ benefit. The receiver must exercise ordinary care in performing their duties. Receivers may be appropriate in high net worth divorces with complex assets or where there are concerns a party may hide or misuse assets. In a recent case, a former husband appealed a trial court order terminating receivership, discharging the receiver, and granting turnover relief to the wife.

Appointment of Receiver

The husband petitioned for divorce in 2009. The court appointed a receiver in 2011 and ordered that he was to take necessary actions to secure payments and manage, control and dispose of the husband’s property. He was also authorized to pay the husband’s living expenses, legal fees and expenses, and court-ordered obligations.

The receiver was subsequently ordered to take possession and control of certain of the husband’s assets, including property in his bankruptcy estate and any exempt retirement accounts. The court instructed the receiver to pay the husband’s living expenses of $5,000 per month, obligations to the wife and minor children, court-ordered obligations to third parties, and up to $1,500 in unexpected expenses of either party, but not more than $6,000 in any four-month period without a court order.

Independent Medical Decision-Making in Texas Custody Case Involving Child with Special Needs

Published on: February 25, 2025 | by Kelly McClure

In some Texas custody cases, parents may not agree on the best medical treatment for a child, especially a child with complex special needs. Courts sometimes give each parent the authority to make decisions regarding medical treatment during their periods of possession, but this can become complicated when the parents cannot agree on appropriate treatment. In a recent case, a father appealed a divorce decree that allowed each parent to make decisions regarding non-invasive treatment during their respective periods of possession.

Medical Decision Making

The parties’ divorce decree gave the mother the exclusive right to enroll their younger child in school and gave both parents the authority to consent to non-invasive medical treatment during their possession. The father appealed these two issues. Although the parties had two children, only the younger child was subject to the appeal.

The father argued that allowing each parent the right to decide whether to administer medication to the child during their possession was not in the child’s best interest.

Texas Court Erred in Denying Husband Jury Trial in Texas Divorce

Published on: February 21, 2025 | by Francesca Blackard

Generally, either party in a Texas divorce is entitled to demand a jury trial pursuant to Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 6.703. A party seeking a jury trial must file a timely request. If the jury trial is available to a party as a matter of right, the court generally must grant the request unless doing so would injure the other party, disrupt the docket, or impede the court’s business. Halsell v. Dehoyos. A party in a civil case may waive the right to a jury trial in some circumstances, including agreeing to a bench trial, not timely requesting a jury trial or paying the fee, not appearing for trial, or not objecting to a bench trial. In re Marriage of Harrison. In a recent case, a husband appealed a divorce decree after the trial court held a bench trial following his timely request for a jury trial.

According to the appeals court’s opinion, the parties married in 1986 and the wife petitioned for divorce in June 2020. They accused each other of fraud against the community and cruel treatment. Each sought a disproportionate share of the marital estate and requested reimbursement to the community estate.

The trial court appointed a receiver to take possession and control of the assets, including rental properties and a business.

Texas Appeals Court Affirms International Travel Restrictions for Child in Divorce Decree

Published on: February 14, 2025 | by Kelly McClure

The Fourteenth Court of Appeals recently reversed a trial court’s order imposing restrictions on international travel for a child whose mother had ties to Russia. In another recent case, however, the Third District Court of Appeals determined there was no error in a trial court’s imposition of travel restrictions for a child in a Texas divorce decree involving a mother with ties to India.

The parties’ son was nine years old when the final divorce decree was signed in 2023. The trial court ordered that the father maintain control and possession of the son’s passport until the child turns 13. The court also prohibited either party from traveling outside the U.S. with the child without the written agreement of the parties, with such agreement not being unreasonably withheld after the child turns 13.

The mother appealed, arguing the trial court abused its discretion in restricting international travel without evidence of a risk of abduction.

Court Erred in Valuation of Large Pension in Texas Divorce

Published on: February 7, 2025 | by Francesca Blackard

Pensions and retirement accounts can complicate property division, especially in a high net worth Texas divorce. Retirement accounts often include both separate and community property. In a recent case, a former husband challenged the court’s valuation of the wife’s pension and the resulting property division.

According to the appeals court’s opinion, the parties had been married nearly 30 years when the wife left and filed for divorce. The trial court found the husband had committed fraud on the community and awarded the wife a disproportionate division of the community estate.

The trial court found the assets of the reconstituted community estate were worth more than $1.8 million. The court also found the community had debts totaling more than $87,000. The court allocated a net estate of over $920,000, or 50.96% of the reconstituted community estate, to the wife and over $888,000, or 49.04%, to the husband.

Modification of Texas Child Custody and Child’s Preference

Published on: January 30, 2025 | by Kelly McClure

A trial court may modify a Texas conservatorship if modification is in the child’s best interest and the child is at least 12 years old and has told the court in chambers which parent they prefer to have the exclusive right to designate their primary residence. Tex . Fam . Code § 156.101(a)(2). In a recent case, a mother challenged a modification that named the father primary managing conservator, in part based on the fourteen-year-old daughter’s preference.

The 2017 final divorce decree appointed both parents joint managing conservators of their child. The mother had the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence. The father was given an expanded standard visitation schedule and ordered to pay monthly child support.

Modification Proceeding

The father petitioned for modification in March 2021, requesting the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence. He argued there had been a material and substantial change in circumstances. He alleged the child, who was now older than twelve years old, would express a preference on which parent should have the exclusive right to designate her primary residence.

Credible Risk of International Abduction in Texas Custody Cases

Published on: January 28, 2025 | by Francesca Blackard

Sometimes when one parent has international ties, the other parent may have concerns about international abduction. There is a two-step statutory process to assess and mitigate risk of parental international abduction. The court must consider certain factors to determine if there is credible evidence of a potential risk. If the court finds there is a credible risk based on the factors, it must determine whether preventive measures should be taken.

In determining if there is a credible risk of international abduction, pursuant to Tex. Fam. Code § 153.502, the court must consider if there is evidence the parent took, withheld, or concealed a child in violation of someone else’s right of possession of or access to the child or threatened to do so. The court must also consider whether there is a lack of financial reasons for the parent to remain in the country. The court must also consider if the parent has recently engaged in planning activities that could facilitate taking the child from the U.S. Furthermore, the court must consider whether the parent has a history of domestic violence, criminal activity, or violating court orders. The court only has to find credible evidence supporting one of the factors.

In a recent case, a mother appealed a divorce decree that imposed prevention measures without a finding there was a credible risk of international abduction.

Texas Appeals Court Concludes Company Was Husband’s Separate Property

Published on: January 20, 2025 | by Kelly McClure

Division of a business in a Texas divorce can complicate a Texas divorce. As with other property, a business interest possessed during the marriage is presumed to be community property, but that presumption can be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence that it is separate property. In a recent case, a husband appealed a property division involving a business interest and property owned by the business.

The trial court signed a final divorce decree in July 2023 and subsequently filed findings of fact and conclusions of law.

The property at issue was a 125-acre tract of land that the husband’s father previously owned. The trial court found the husband and his father each received 50 shares of company stock on the day the company was created in May 2008. A few days later, the husband’s father deeded the property to the company. The parties got married in June 2009.