In a Texas divorce, the court must divide the property in a just and right manner. The requirement is that the division be equitable, but not necessarily equal. The Texas Supreme Court identified several factors courts should consider in Murff v. Murff. These factors include the parties’ physical conditions, education, financial condition, abilities, and ages. A husband recently challenged a trial court’s division of the marital property following a mediated settlement agreement between the parties.
The parties married in 1999 and the wife initiated divorce proceedings in 2017. Pursuant to a temporary order, the marital home was sold and about $500,000 in sales proceeds were put into an escrow account. The court signed an agreed order allowing disbursement of an equal portion of the proceeds to pay each party’s divorce attorneys. The rest of the proceeds was left in the escrow account.