A Texas postnuptial agreement is not enforceable if the party proves that it was not signed voluntarily or that it was unconscionable and they were not given a fair and reasonable disclosure of the other party’s property or financial obligations, did not voluntarily and expressly waive disclosure in writing, and…
The purpose of Texas spousal maintenance is to give temporary support to a spouse whose ability to provide for their own needs has been diminished and who does not have sufficient assets to support themselves. Spousal maintenance may be ordered if the spouse meets certain statutory criteria. For a marriage…
Mediated settlement agreements and Texas agreed divorce decrees are construed according to standard contract interpretation principals. A former wife recently challenged an enforcement order based on her interpretation of the agreed divorce decree. The parties got married in 2002. The husband had acquired a business interest in the company for…
Property divisions in Texas divorces are intended to be final. Although a party may appeal or seek to enforce a property division, they generally cannot relitigate it in a separate lawsuit. Sometimes, however, the divorce decree does not adjudicate all of the parties’ property. A former spouse may file suit…
Real estate investments can lead to complex issues for property division in a Texas divorce, especially if there are co-owners or business entities involved. A former husband recently challenged the property division in his divorce, which characterized certain property as his wife’s separate property and awarded his father-in-law a 50%…
Texas spouses may agree in writing to partition or exchange some or all of their community property between themselves such that the property becomes the separate property of one spouse. A former wife recently challenged her divorce decree, arguing the trial court erred in awarding a reimbursement claim against her,…
Large inheritances, trusts, and gifts can complicate the property division in a Texas divorce. A spouse’s separate property includes the property they received during the marriage through gift, descent, or devise. Tex. Fam. Code § 3.001. In a recent case, a former husband challenged his divorce decree that characterized mineral…
Property division in a Texas divorce can be complicated when there is a business involved. In a recent case, a former husband challenged a property division that divided assets belonging to his business entities. According to the appeals court, the husband formed two businesses before the marriage. He said he…
Certain assets, especially stocks or assets related to a business, may be held in the name of just one spouse, even if they are community property. In a Texas divorce, a court may impose a constructive trust requiring the spouse to transfer property to the other spouse. Tex. Fam Code…
In a Texas divorce, “special community property” is community property that is under the sole management, control, and disposition of one spouse. Tex. Fam. Code § 3.102(a). Although special community property is under the sole management, control, and disposition of one spouse, disposition of that property must be fair to…