Chapter 8 of the Texas Family Code sets forth the circumstances under which a court in a Texas divorce case may order spousal maintenance. Pursuant to section 8.051, the court may order maintenance if the spouse requesting it lacks sufficient property to provide for his or her minimum needs and…
In Texas custody cases, the best interest of the child is to be the primary consideration. In Texas, courts may consider a variety of factors in determining what is in the child’s best interest. These factors include the child’s desires, the child’s current and future physical and emotional needs, any…
Enforcing a child support order against a person who fails or refuses to pay can become time-consuming and expensive. Texas family law provides multiple options for enforcing a child support order. It also allows a person enforcing a child support order to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs if the…
Texas recognizes common law marriages. To have a common law marriage, the parties must have agreed to be married, must have lived together as spouses after that agreement, and presented themselves as married. When most people think of common law marriages, they consider couples who were never formally married. However,…
A spouse who improperly spends large amounts of community assets without the other spouse’s knowledge or consent may receive a smaller share of the remaining community estate during a Texas divorce. A Texas appeals court recently considered whether a property division was just and right after the trial court found…
In Texas divorces, it is common for the parties to agree to a property division and ask the court to approve the agreement and include it in the decree. Once the court does so, it generally may not modify or alter the property division included in the agreement. It may,…
Texas is a community property state, and property acquired during a marriage is generally distributed equitably at the time of a Texas divorce. However, couples may enter into premarital agreements, also known as prenuptial agreements, that alter the way property will be identified and distributed if a divorce should occur.…
When a business is struggling, the owner often wants to put money into it to try to save it. This can be a simple matter when both spouses have ownership in the business. Texas divorce attorneys understand, however, that it can be complicated when the business is one spouse’s separate…
Dividing property is an important aspect of the divorce process. Only community property is divided by the court, however. Although property acquired during the marriage is presumed to be community property, Texas divorce attorneys know there are some exceptions. A gift made to one spouse during the marriage is separate…
In a Texas divorce, the court is required to divide the property in a “just and right” manner. The court is not required to divide the property equally but must divide it equitably. It may order a disproportionate division if it has a reasonable basis to do so. There are…