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Texas Appeals Court Confirms Statutory Bar on Joint Managing Conservatorship After Family Violence Findings

Published on: July 20, 2026 | by Francesca Blackard

Texas custody cases are often decided under the “best interest of the child” standard, which normally gives trial courts broad discretion to shape conservatorship arrangements. But that discretion is not unlimited. In cases involving family violence, the Texas Family Code places a direct restriction on what a court is allowed to order.

Under Texas Family Code § 153.004(b), a court may not appoint joint managing conservators when there is credible evidence of a history or pattern of family violence. The Austin Court of Appeals recently reinforced how strictly that rule applies in H. v. N., holding that once the statutory finding is made, a trial court cannot rely on rehabilitation, elapsed time, or improved behavior to justify joint custody. H. v. N. (Tex. App.—Austin, May 15, 2026).

Factual Background and Trial Court Proceedings

Forensic Accounting and Complex Texas Property Division

Published on: May 18, 2026 | by Francesca Blackard

In complex divorces involving high-value assets, business entities, and allegations of hidden transfers, the court’s ability to achieve equity often depends entirely on the work of a forensic accountant. A recent decision by the Fifth Court of Appeals demonstrates how Texas courts rely on financial tracing and expert reports to evaluate the integrity of the community estate.

The Facts of the Case

The litigation involved a marriage of twenty-six years and a community estate comprised of diverse business interests and real property. The wife alleged that the husband engaged in a series of asset transfers to third parties to deplete the community estate while the divorce was pending. To address these claims, the court looked to financial tracing, the process of identifying the character and movement of funds through various accounts, to determine if the community had been defrauded.

Texas Legislature Increases Statutory Cap for Calculating Child Support

Published on: February 25, 2026 | by Francesca Blackard

Texas child support guidelines are based on a statutory formula tied to the obligor parent’s monthly net resources. These guidelines are designed to create consistent support awards across family courts while allowing trial courts discretion in certain cases.

Beginning September 1, 2025, the Texas Legislature increased the statutory cap used to calculate Texas child support for the first time since 2019. The adjustment to the net resources cap reflects the legislature’s periodic effort to align child support calculations with the economic realities of inflation.

The Net Resources Cap in Texas Child Support

Lori Loughlin, Mossimo Giannulli, and the Sale of Real Estate in Texas Divorces

Published on: January 19, 2026 | by Francesca Blackard

Public reporting indicates that actress Lori Loughlin sold a luxury Palm Desert property after announcing her intention to divorce Mossimo Giannulli in 2025. There was no public dispute between Loughlin and Giannulli over the sale of their home, which is notable because our attorneys often see disputes over high-value real estate—whether it should be sold, retained, or awarded to one spouse. These questions frequently fuel property division litigation in Texas divorces.

Texas is a community property state, and trial courts must divide community property in a manner that is “just and right.” A ‘just and right’ division requires the trial court to divide the marital estate equitably. “Just and right”, as established in a Supreme Court of Texas case, Murff v. Murff, does not always mean an equal division, particularly in high-net-worth cases involving complex assets. (Citation: Murff v. Murff, 615 S.W.2d 696, 699 (Tex. 1981).)

Our Texas family law attorneys follow a multi-step process to determine how real estate should be divided upon divorce, and to ensure the fair division of real estate (and other assets) for our clients.

What the Amy Schumer Divorce Highlights About Planning for Texas Divorces

Published on: January 10, 2026 | by Kelly McClure

Amy Schumer and Chris Fischer have announced on social media that they are divorcing after seven years of marriage. Let’s evaluate the dissolution of this marriage from the perspective of a family law attorney.

Even prior to the marriage, Schumer was an internationally famous comedian. Fischer is successful in his own field as a James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef, though Schumer’s net worth dwarfs Fischer’s at the time of writing. These facts matter when weighing the division of assets and debts, though a more penetrating accounting would be necessary.

It’s unclear whether the couple signed any pre- or post-marital agreements, as they never publicly commented on this facet of their relationship. This question piques our interest because pre-marital agreements, post-marital agreements, and pre-divorce planning simply carry higher stakes in terminations involving high-income spouses with significant assets (and possibly debts) to gain or lose.

Appeals Court Affirms Conservatorship Ruling after Parent Leaves Courtroom During Proceedings

Published on: January 6, 2026 | by Francesca Blackard

Texas trial courts have broad discretion in conservatorship decisions, particularly when the record reflects that the ongoing conflict between parents isn’t in the best interests of the involved children. In a recent case, the Third Court of Appeals reaffirmed that discretion by upholding a conservatorship ruling despite one parent’s objections to the conduct of the proceedings.

The case involved a contested conservatorship proceeding between a separating husband and wife, co-parents of two young children. Throughout their legal battle, the trial court issued multiple temporary orders addressing conservatorship and possession of the children.

Initially, both parents were named temporary joint managing conservators, but the husband was granted the exclusive right to designate the children’s primary residence. As the parents continued to have challenges, later court orders imposed restrictions on the wife’s possession and visitation rights.

Texas Supreme Court Clarifies When a Default Divorce Judgment Can Be Set Aside

Published on: January 1, 2026 | by Kelly McClure

The Supreme Court of Texas has weighed in on the thorny question of when a default divorce judgment should be undone. In a recent case, a husband filed for divorce and sought to serve his wife with divorce papers. At the time, the wife was residing at her parents’ house with their child. After attempts at personal service were unsuccessful, the trial court authorized service by alternative means.

Despite the alternative service, the wife remained unaware that she had been served and did not file an answer. The trial court entered a default divorce decree, dividing the parties’ property.

Motion for New Trial

Voluntary Underemployment in Dallas Custody Dispute

Published on: September 21, 2024 | by Kelly McClure

Parents are obligated to support their minor children and cannot avoid their obligation through voluntary unemployment or underemployment. If a parent’s actual income is significantly less than what they could earn due to intentional unemployment or underemployment, the court may apply the Texas support guidelines to their earning potential. Once the obligor has provided proof of his current wages, the obligee has the burden of showing intentional unemployment or underemployment. If they do so, the burden then shifts back to the obligor for rebuttal. A father recently challenged a court’s findings that he was underemployed and that it was in the child’s best interest to apply the child support guidelines to his earning potential.

The father registered a New York child support order in Texas and moved to modify the parent-child relationship. The order required the father to pay child support of $1,437.44 and medical support of $107.03 each month. He requested a reduction to $377, retroactive to the date he petitioned to reduce his arrearages.

The mother filed a motion to enforce, seeking contempt against the father for failure to pay the support and the arrearages. The court held a hearing and confirmed $85,858.87 in child support arrearages and $8,621.66 in medical support arrearages, with offsets, resulting in a total of $89,247.93. The trial court awarded the mother attorney’s fees and costs.

Texas Legislative Update

Published on: August 16, 2023 | by Brandon Joseph

During its most recent session, Texas lawmakers adopted and passed several amendments and updates to the Texas Family Code, which were then formally signed into law by the Governor.

These revisions and additions to the Texas Family Code impact numerous areas of family law, including but not limited to: (1) suits for the dissolution of marriage; (2) suits affecting the parent-child relationship; (3) protective orders; and (4) discovery in cases filed under the Texas Family Code.

Ranging from modifications to elements necessary to prove a claim, clarifications to existing codified law, and the removal of automatically triggered disclosure requirements, family law practitioners throughout the State of Texas should familiarize themselves with these changes and how such changes impact their practice.

Exception to Texas Statute of Limitations for Adjudicating Parentage

Published on: October 23, 2022 | by Francesca Blackard

iStock-1033856542-300x200 When a mother is married at the time of her child’s birth, the husband is generally presumed to be the father under Texas family law. There are two ways to rebut the presumption: with a proceeding to adjudicate parentage or with the filing of a denial of paternity along with the filing of an acknowledgement of paternity by another person. Suits to adjudicate parentage of a child with a presumed father generally must be brought by the child’s fourth birthday. There is an exception, however if the mother and presumed father did not live together or engage in sexual intercourse at the probable time of the child’s conception. There is also an exception if the presumed father mistakenly believed he was the biological father based on misrepresentations. Tex. Fam. Code § 160.607.

Alleged Father Challenges Adjudication of Paternity

An alleged father recently challenged a trial court’s determination that his adjudication of parentage case was time-barred. According to the appeals court’s unpublished opinion, the alleged father petitioned to adjudicate parentage of two children, one born in 2014 and the other in 2015. The mother was married to another man when the children were born.

The mother moved for summary judgment, arguing the alleged father’s suit was time-barred and none of the exceptions that toll the statute of limitations for adjudication of parentage applied. She attached her own affidavit and an affidavit from her then husband as summary judgment evidence. Her motion was granted.