A court must base its decisions regarding custody and visitation primarily on the child’s best interest. In a recent Texas case, a father challenged a court’s modification of his prior possession order, restricting him to supervised visitation with his daughter. The mother petitioned to be named the child’s sole managing…
Articles Posted by Kelly McClure
Texas Divorce Decree Must Adopt Terms of a Mediated Settlement Agreement
A Texas Mediated Settlement Agreement (“MSA”) that meets the statutory formalities is binding and the parties are entitled to a judgment upon it (i.e., the divorce decree must adopt it). In a recent case, a husband challenged an order issued after the divorce decree that was intended to conform the…
Texas Appeals Court Upholds Finding Father Was Intentionally Unemployed or Underemployed
If a parent in a Texas child-support case is intentionally unemployed or underemployed resulting in an income significantly less than what they could earn, the court may calculate child support based on their earning potential. Tex. Fam. Code § 154.066(a). The other parent has the burden of showing that the…
Arbitration Award Involving Texas Couple’s Business Entities Upheld on Appeal
A Texas premarital agreement can help protect each party’s assets in the event a marriage ends in divorce. Premarital agreements may also include other provisions, including a requirement to submit certain issues to binding arbitration instead of for determination before a judge or jury. In a recent case, a husband…
Meaning of “Multiple Households” for Purposes of Calculating Texas Child Support
Courts often keep siblings together; however, in some Texas child custody cases, it is in the children’s best interest for them to be split up. When one or more children live with one parent and one or more children live with the other parent, each parent may be obligated to…
Cruel Treatment During Marriage Results in Disproportionate Division of Property
Fault in Divorce Divorces may be granted without fault, but Texas still allows divorce to be granted on fault-based grounds in certain situations. For example, a Texas divorce may be granted in one spouse’s favor if the other committed “cruel treatment” that makes the parties continuing to live together “insupportable.”…
Texas Court Finds No Common Law Marriage Existed Despite Representations the Parties Were Married
Texas, unlike many states, still recognizes common law marriage (also known as an “informal” marriage). Unlike with formal marriages, a common law spouse often has to prove that the marriage even existed before getting a divorce. A party may prove that an informal marriage exists by showing that the parties…
Texas Court of Appeals Denies Writ to Vacate Order Compelling Therapy
In an ideal situation, child custody may be resolved by agreement, potentially following mediation. In some cases, however, Texas child custody cases become long protracted affairs with disputes that last for years. A father recently challenged an order that required him to participate and family therapy and restricted his access…
Texas Appeals Court Affirms Charging Order Against Businesses to Enforce Judgments Arising from Divorce
Unfortunately, former spouses do not always comply with all of their obligations under a Texas divorce decree. When that happens, the other party may need to take action to enforce those obligations. A father recently challenged a court order charging his interest in certain business organizations with judgments the mother…
Ex-Wife Not Required to Repay Ex-Husband for Mortgage Payments After Divorce
Sometimes, couples’ lives remain intertwined even after divorce. If the parties continue to mingle finances, own property together, or keep or take out loans together after the divorce is final, the divorce may not finally resolve all of their issues. In a recent case, an ex-husband sued his ex-wife regarding…