Divorce

Court Finds Fraud Based on Husband’s Transfers of Funds to Adult Children in Texas High Net Worth Divorce

Published on: July 22, 2025 | by Francesca Blackard

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 the other spouse.

When a spouse shows the other spouse disposed of community property without their consent or knowledge, there is a presumption of constructive fraud. The other spouse then has the burden of showing the disposition was fair. The court considers the relative size of the property to the total community estate, the adequacy of the rest of the estate, and the relationship of the parties involved in the disposition. In a recent case, a husband challenged the divorce decree that stated he had committed fraud on the community estate.

The parties had two children together. The husband’s two children from a previous relationship were adults by the time of the divorce. Each party alleged constructive and actual fraud on the community estate by the other.

Texas Divorce Involving Potentially Conflicting Tax Provisions in Agreement

Published on: July 15, 2025 | by Kelly McClure

Although not always an issue in a Texas divorce, tax matters can become a significant issue, especially in high net worth divorces or divorces involving the division of a business. A Texas appeals court recently decided a second appeal in a case involving a mediated settlement agreement (“MSA”) with potentially conflicting provisions related to the parties’ taxes.

According to the appeals court’s opinion, the parties’ MSA was divided into two parts. Part I was what the parties referred to as the “boilerplate” section and Part II included specific provisions addressing the children and the property division.

Federal tax liabilities were addressed in two provisions, one in each part. The provision in Part I, identified by the appeals court as the “indemnity term,” provided that the parties would equally share any income tax refund or federal tax liabilities from their taxes through 2019, with each holding the other harmless from half of the tax liabilities. The relevant section under Part II, identified by the appeals court as the “IRS regulations term,” stated, “Income Taxes due for 2018 and 2019: According to IRS rules and regulations.”

Texas Appeals Court Affirms Appointment of Receiver for Collection of Divorce Judgment

Published on: July 8, 2025 | by Francesca Blackard

Sometimes a party to a Texas divorce may have difficulty collecting what has been awarded to them. Pursuant to the Texas turnover statute, a judgment creditor may ask the court to assist them in reaching the judgment debtor’s non-exempt property. The court is authorized to take a number of actions, including appointing a receiver. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.002. Appointment of a receiver is considered an “extraordinary remedy” and should not occur if there is a lesser remedy available. Gilbreath v. Horan. Although a receiver may be appointed in a divorce case, the turnover statute is not limited to divorce cases. In a recent case, a former wife requested a receiver to satisfy a judgment against her former husband following his divorce from his second wife.

According to the appeals court’s opinion, the former husband remarried after the parties’ divorce in 2011. He and his second wife divorced in 2018. The first wife argued the property division in the husband’s second divorce constituted a fraudulent transfer to the second wife to avoid debts he owed the first wife.

The parties divorced in Arkansas in 2011. The husband was ordered to pay $250,223 to a business and $8,000 to the first wife for attorney’s fees. According to the first wife, she sought garnishment against multiple banks in February 2018 and was awarded $70,000 in one of those actions, partly based on her sole ownership of the business.

Acceptance-of-Benefits Doctrine May Preclude Appeal in Texas Divorce

Published on: June 30, 2025 | by Kelly McClure

A former spouse may want to appeal their Texas divorce decree, but in some cases, actions taken after the divorce decree is entered can preclude a party from appealing. In a recent case, a former wife was barred from challenging certain aspects of the divorce decree by the acceptance of benefits doctrine.

The wife filed for divorce in January 2018. The court rendered judgment in late December 2023 and signed the decree the following January. The wife appealed, arguing the trial court erred in admitting certain evidence, in finding that a condominium was the husband’s separate property, and in awarding the husband an equalization payment.

Acceptance-of-Benefits Doctrine

Texas Supreme Court Says Courts Must Consider Child’s Expenses Along with Child Support in Spousal Support Analysis

Published on: June 30, 2025 | by Francesca Blackard

The Texas Family Code sets out the circumstances under which Texas spousal maintenance may be ordered. The court may order maintenance to a spouse only if they will lack sufficient property after the divorce to provide for their minimum reasonable needs. The spouse must also meet one of three conditions, either: (A) being unable to earn sufficient income to meet their minimum reasonable needs because of an incapacitating disability; (B) having been married for at least 10 years and lacking the ability to earn sufficient income; or (C) being the custodian of a child of the marriage who has a disability and requires substantial care and supervision that prevents the spouse from earning sufficient income. Tex. Fam. Code § 8.051. It is generally within the court’s discretion to determine a spouse’s “minimum reasonable needs.”

The Texas Supreme Court recently considered the nature of evidence required to support a spousal maintenance award.

The wife stopped working outside the home to become their primary caregiver to the parties’ triplets. One of them was a “medically fragile child” who needed extensive medical treatment.

Texas Home Confirmed Wife’s Separate Property Despite Deed Granting Interest to Husband

Published on: June 30, 2025 | by Francesca Blackard

Property characterization can be a significant area of contention in Texas divorces, particularly in high net worth divorces or those in which one party entered the marriage with significantly more assets. Texas law presumes that property possessed by either spouse during or on dissolution is community property. That presumption may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence the property is separate. Tex. Fam. Code § 3.003. Property conveyed by one spouse to the other is generally presumed to be a gift. Clear and convincing evidence the conveying spouse did not intend to gift the property is needed to rebut the gift presumption. A former husband recently challenged characterization of the marital residence as the wife’s separate property despite execution of a general warranty deed granting him an undivided one-half interest.

The parties got married in 2001 and the wife petitioned for divorce in 2021. The trial court found the marital home was the wife’s separate property. According to the appeals court’s opinion, she bought it two years before the marriage and refinanced it in 2003. She also signed a general warranty deed that granted the husband an undivided half interest. The court found the wife did not intend to gift the property to the husband and provided an alternate reason for executing the warranty deed. The court also found refinancing had not changed the property’s character. The trial court awarded the wife conditional appellate attorney’s fees if the husband appealed to the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court of Texas and the wife “substantially prevail[ed].]”

The husband appealed the home’s characterization and the conditional appellate attorney’s fees award.

Texas Appeals Court Affirms Order for Partition and Sale of Property after Divorce

Published on: June 30, 2025 | by Kelly McClure

Ideally, after a Texas divorce, the parties will cooperate and take any actions needed to sell or transfer property and resolve outstanding issues, but that does not always happen. A Texas appeals court recently considered a case in which a former wife alleged the former husband was preventing the sale of jointly-owned property.

Divorce Case

The parties divorced in March 2020. According to the appeals court’s opinion, the final divorce decree found that a particular piece of real property was community property and awarded each party 50% as their separate property, leaving them tenants in common. The decree did not address sale or partition of the property.

Second Lawsuit

A couple of months after the decree was signed, the former wife filed suit against the former husband, seeking an order for the sale of the property and partition of the proceeds. She also requested attorney’s fees, expenses, and interest. This lawsuit was ultimately consolidated into the divorce case. The court held a bench trial and signed an order finding the parties were co-tenants and that the property was not subject to partition in kind. The order required the property be listed by June 1, 2022 and that the parties to take all necessary steps and execute any necessary documents to facilitate the sale. The court also ordered that any proceeds after payment of any encumbrances on the property be split equally between the parties. It did not address the wife’s request for fees, expenses, and interest.

Texas Appeals Court Upholds Father’s Custody in International Custody Dispute

Published on: June 30, 2025 | by Kelly McClure

International marriages can lead to complex divorces, especially in regards to child custody. In a recent Texas divorce case, a mother appealed a decree that awarded the father the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence.

According to the appeals court, the parties married while the father was stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army. The child was born in Germany after the father was sent to San Antonio. A few months later, the mother and baby joined him in Texas.

The mother and child visited Germany. The father told the mother the marriage was over, and she decided to stay there. She did not bring the child back when he asked her to do so. He sued her for child abduction and went to Germany for Hague Convention proceedings. They ultimately reached an agreement and the mother and child returned to Texas.

Texas Appeals Court Affirms Disproportionate Property Division Despite Wife’s Adultery

Published on: June 30, 2025 | by Francesca Blackard

A Texas property division must be “just and right,” but that does not necessarily mean equal. A court may consider a party’s fault in the division when determining how to divide the property, but it may not use the property division to punish the at-fault spouse. A former husband recently challenged his divorce decree, arguing in part that the court abused its discretion by not considering the wife’s adultery in its property division.

According to the appeals court, both parties were from India, but the husband was working in Texas prior to the marriage. The parties got married in India in 2004 and wife moved to Texas with the husband. They had two children together.

The husband petitioned for divorce on the grounds of adultery in October 2018. He asked the court to award him the marital residence. In her counterpetition, the wife alleged the husband had committed acts of cruelty. Both parties alleged fraud on the community by the other spouse.

Husband’s Reimbursement Claim For High Dollar Assets Taken After Separation by Wife Denied

Published on: May 14, 2025 | by Francesca Blackard

Reimbursement is an equitable right arises in a Texas divorce when the property of one marital estate is used to the benefit of another marital estate, resulting in unjust enrichment to the benefited estate if not repaid. Tex. Fam. Code § 3.402. A spouse may pursue a reimbursement claim, for example, if community property funds are used to pay the debt for or make improvements to the other spouse’s separate property. The court must apply equitable principles to determine if it will recognize a claim for reimbursement, considering the relative circumstances of both parties and, if the court determines the reimbursement claim is appropriate, it must order a just and right division of the claim for reimbursement, with regard for the rights of the parties and children. Tex. Fam. Code § 7.007. The spouse seeking reimbursement has the burden of proving that the property of one marital estate was used by one or both spouses to benefit another marital estate, the value of that benefit, and that the benefited estate will be unjustly enriched if reimbursement is not required. Tex. Fam. Code § 3.402(b). The trial court has broad discretion in determining reimbursement claims.

In a recent case, a former husband appealed the divorce decree that did not award him reimbursement. The wife petitioned for divorce in 2022, after nearly 50 years of marriage. In his counterpetition, the husband made a claim for reimbursement, but the court did not award him reimbursement in the final divorce decree.

The Husband’s Appeal

The husband appealed, arguing the trial court did not properly apply the law regarding reimbursement of the community estate. The judge stated, “whatever she took with her [in 2016] the marriage was still ongoing . . . . I cannot go back in time and fix that.” The husband argued the court misstated the law.