In a recent case, a Texas appellate court considered a motion by an ex-wife to compel her former husband to produce financial records. The husband petitioned for divorce from the wife in 2008. He was employed by a limited liability company and also participated in other limited liability partnerships with…
Articles Posted in Property
Protecting Your Assets in the Event of Divorce
One of the best ways to protect your assets during marriage is to enter into a premarital agreement (also known as a prenuptial agreement or prenup) prior to getting married that details all the assets and liabilities of both parties prior to marriage and details each party’s rights and…
Community Property Presumption In Texas
In Texas, all property possessed by either spouse at the time of divorce is presumed to be community property under Texas Family Code § 3.003. A recent appellate case arose out of the divorce of a Texas couple who had been married in Mexico in 1999. In Mexico, they got their…
When Business and Pleasure Become Commingled
If your business partner is also your life partner, you need to consider a recent Texas high court decision. (read more) Gonzalez v. Maggio, 500 S.W.3d 656 (Tex. App. – Austin 2016) is a Texas case that illustrates the complexities of ending a business partnership along side of ending a…
Property Division and Adult Disabled Child in Texas Divorce Case
In the Matter of Luna and Vicente Luna considered an appeal from a final divorce decree in 2015, which was memorialized in a written decree that granted a couple’s divorce, divided their property, and provided for support and conservatorship of their adult disabled child. The couple had married in 1980…
Dividing a Family Business and the Community Estate in Texas
In the Matter of Marriage of Belcastro and Belcastro considered issues raised by an ex-husband related to the division of the community estate and debt. The case arose from a couple that had married in 2004. The wife was an Army major, assigned to bases in Texas, Iraq, and Germany.…
Property Distribution Post-Divorce in Texas
Texas Family Code section 9.007(a) does not permit a trial court to modify property division that is subject to a divorce decree. In the recent Texas appellate case of Perry v. Perry, an ex-husband appealed from a post-divorce order that appointed a receiver to sell a house that was the…
Interpreting Texas Premarital Agreements
In re Interest of HDV arose when a husband appealed a final divorce decree, arguing among other things that the trial court had erred in awarding his wife money and property under their premarital agreement. The couple had entered into the agreement, which included a provision that there would be…
Retroactive Child Support in Texas
In the Texas appellate case of In re Aer, a father appealed a divorce decree in connection with an award of retroactive child support and the distribution of marital property. The mother and father sued for divorce. The court held a bench trial and appointed the couple joint managing conservators of…
Who Keeps the Engagement Ring if the Wedding is Called Off?
What happens to the engagement ring if someone calls off the wedding? Unfortunately, before some engaged couples can make it down the aisle to say “I do”, someone says “I don’t”. The issue of who gets to keep the engagement ring often surfaces during this heartbreaking time. An engagement ring…