A Texas divorce case can become more complicated for spouses with a child with complex medical needs. In addition to addressing issues related to custody and decision-making, the divorce may also have to address spousal maintenance for the child’s primary caregiver. In a recent case, a husband appealed an unequal…
Pursuant to the Inception of Title doctrine, a property’s character is determined when the party acquires their interest in it. This means that property acquired before the marriage will generally be characterized as that spouse’s separate property in a Texas divorce. In a recent case, however, the court determined that…
Under Texas family law, property acquired by a spouse during the marriage is community property, unless it meets the requirements of separate property. Pursuant to Tex. Fam. Code § 3.001, personal injury recoveries are the separate property of the injured spouse, but recovery for lost earning capacity is community property. …
Texas spousal maintenance is intended to provide “temporary and rehabilitative” support for a spouse who does not have the ability or assets to support themselves or whose ability to do so has deteriorated while they were engaged in homemaking activities. Courts may award spousal maintenance only in limited circumstances if…
In dividing property in a Texas divorce, the court must effect a just and right division. If the marital residence is part of the community estate and one party will keep it, the court must address the other spouse’s share of the equity. The court may do this by placing…
The characterization of property in a Texas divorce is generally determined by the property’s character when the spouse acquired it. Separate property is property a spouse owned before the marriage or acquired during the marriage through gift, devise, or decent. Improvements made to separate property are generally also separate property…
Property possessed by either spouse at the time of a Texas divorce is generally presumed to be community property, but that presumption can be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence. A number of other rules and presumptions may affect the characterization of property during the property division. A husband recently…
A court in a Texas divorce must divide the marital estate in a just and right manner. A just and right division does not necessarily mean an equal division. Courts may consider a variety of factors in determining the property division, including fault in the break-up, income disparity, the relative…
Valuing a closely-held medical practice during a divorce in Texas requires a complex understanding of the measures of value, methods of valuation, and Texas statutes. Although business valuations do not adhere to precise mathematical processes, general methods, procedures, and principles exist. In Texas, determining the value of medical practice is…
In a Texas divorce, the trial court must divide the estate in a just and right manner, but the division does not have to be equal. Property possessed by either party during or on dissolution of the marriage is presumed to be community property. To rebut the presumption, a party…