Texas Divorce Attorney Blog

Ex-Wife Not Required to Repay Ex-Husband for Mortgage Payments After Divorce

Published on: October 5, 2020 | by Kelly McClure

Sometimes, couples’ lives remain intertwined even after divorce. If the parties continue to mingle finances, own property together, or keep or take out loans together after the divorce is final, the divorce may not finally resolve all of their issues.

In a recent case, an ex-husband sued his ex-wife regarding property she had been awarded in the divorce years earlier. The parties purchased a vacation home during their marriage. The ex-wife was awarded the vacation home in the divorce decree, but a geographical restriction on where the children could live prevented her from living in it.

The ex-wife put the house up for sale after the divorce, but did not sell it after the husband offered to pay the mortgage. The ex-husband received the statements and made the payments. The ex-wife testified she was aware her ex-husband was paying the mortgage.

Texas Court Grants Mother’s Wishes to Relocate Out of State

Published on: October 1, 2020 | by Spencer Page

For many Texas co-parents, relocating to another state is their “white whale:” relentlessly sought after, but seldom granted by the family courts. However, one Texas mother recently obtained the (nearly) unobtainable. This mother had spent years dealing with a co-parent, the father, who made even the simplest of child-rearing decisions difficult. The father had cancelled dentist appointments without telling the mother, hid the children from their mother, taught the children how to fight (by telling them to hit the mother), and refused to consent to the children’s enrollment in daycare despite one of the children suffering from speech delays that required professional attention. Nonetheless, this mother persisted.

20 Things That People Should Do Before Getting Married

Published on: October 1, 2020 | by Kelly McClure

Recently a Twitter user named @cxkenobkerry shared her advice on 20 things that people should do before getting married. While Twitter may not seem like the most traditional place to seek relationship or marriage advice, the Twitter thread went viral and was even featured on the Daily Mail. With this list reaching such a wide audience and with it now being October and therefore wedding season in Texas, it seems appropriate to analyze its contents from a perspective focused on family law in the Lone Star State.

Continuing Texas Child Support While Child Pursues High School Diploma

Published on: September 21, 2020 | by Kelly McClure

A Texas court may order child support beyond a child’s 18^th birthday if the child is still in high school, whether a public school, a private school, or course that provide joint high school and junior college credits. The child must comply with the minimum attendance requirements in the Education Code or the private school’s minimum attendance requirements. Tex. Fam. Code. Ann. § 154.002. A mother challenged the termination of child support for her son after his 18^th birthday in a recent Texas custody case.

The divorce decree ordered the father to pay monthly child support until one of the listed events occurred. Child support would continue if he was in compliance with the requirements in Tex. Fam. Code. Ann. § 154.002.

The father petitioned to terminate child support in September 2018, following the son’s 18^th birthday in April. The mother claimed the son was enrolled in an accredited secondary school. She then filed a petition for continuation and increase of child support and alleged her son was enrolled full-time in a private secondary school.

Appeals Court Reverses Finding of Business Partnership in Texas Divorce Case

Published on: September 14, 2020 | by McClure Law Group

Long term relationships that involve joint business dealings prior to marriage can lead to complicated divorces. In a recent case, a wife challenged a trial court’s finding that she and her husband had formed a business partnership in 1995 and that properties purchased in her name belonged to the partnership.

The wife filed for divorce, alleging the parties married in 2009. The husband alleged the parties had been informally married since 1984. He also alleged, in the alternative, that they had entered into a farming and ranching business partnership in 1995.

The parties began a romantic relationship in 1984. In 1995, the wife bought a property in her name and made all related payments. The husband moved into the property to work on the house. The wife also worked on the house on weekends.

Court Grants Mother Exclusive Rights in Texas Custody Case

Published on: September 8, 2020 | by Kelly McClure

In a Texas custody case, the court may grant certain rights and duties to one parent exclusively even if both parents are named conservators. The court may limit the rights or duties of a conservator parent if it finds, in writing, that doing so is in the child’s best interest. Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 153.072. Courts may grant exclusive rights to one parent when the other reuses to cooperate with respect to those aspects of the child’s care. A father recently challenged a court order granting the mother a number of exclusive rights.

The mother petitioned to modify the parent child-relationship. She requested the exclusive right to designate the primary residence without a geographic restriction so she could accept a job and move to Louisiana.

The mother took a job in Monroe, Louisiana in 2015. The father also moved to Monroe, and they all lived there for several months. The mother testified he was abusive toward her. She also said he took her green card and moved with the children back to Texas.

Texas Court Denies Mother’s Request to Change Children’s Surname

Published on: August 21, 2020 | by Kelly McClure

A parent may want to change a child’s name for a number of reasons. Texas family law allows a court to order the change of a child’s name if doing so is in the child’s best interest. Tex. Fam. Code § 45.004(a). Generally, courts should only order a child’s name change if it is needed for the child’s “substantial welfare.” A mother recently appealed a court’s denial of her petition to change her children’s names from their father’s surname to her maiden name.

The parents divorced in 2011. After allegations the father had abused the son in 2015, the mother had sole possession of both of the minor children. The mother petitioned in 2019 to change the children’s last name to her maiden name. The children agreed to the change, but the father opposed it. He argued they had his name since they were born and that they could change their names on their own when they are adults.

The mother testified she wanted to change the children’s names because she had grown up with her maiden name. She said the children wanted to identify with her family’s name “to feel the closeness of [that] family.” They had been using her name and wanted to legally change their names. She testified that her maiden name is well respected in the area and having that name would be important when the children became involved with the family businesses.

Threats of Criminal Prosecution Can Constitute Duress in Texas Divorce Case

Published on: August 17, 2020 | by McClure Law Group

Divorce is usually fraught with emotion, but in some cases, a party may be pressured to the point of duress. Duress exists when there have been threats that prevent a person from exercising their own free will. Although it is not duress when a person threatens something they have a legal right to do, duress may exist if they exhort or make improper demands of another person. An agreement signed under duress may be void. In a recent Texas divorce case, a husband alleged he was under duress when he signed the marital home over to the wife.

The parties married in 1994. During the marriage, they purchased the home. They separated in March 2017. They agreed the wife would take the home and the husband would not have to pay child support, but they never memorialized the agreement. The husband testified he changed his mind after finding out his wife was unfaithful.

The husband moved out in March 2017. The wife also filed her divorce petition that month. She testified that the husband came to the house in April, kicked in the door, and threatened to kill her, her boyfriend, and her grandmother. She reported the incident to the police.

Parent Seeking Child Support Modification in Texas Must Present Evidence of Historical Income and Resources

Published on: August 7, 2020 | by McClure Law Group

When a parent seeks to modify a Texas child support order on the basis of a material and substantial change in financial circumstances, they must prove that such a change occurred. Doing so requires evidence of the parties’ current income and resources, but it also requires evidence of their income and resources at the time of the previous order.

In a recent case, a father challenged a court’s denial of his petition for modification. The parents divorced in 2012 and signed an Agreed Final Decree of divorce. The mother was given the exclusive right to designate their primary residence, but the possession schedule gave each parent possession 50% of the time.

Under the decree, the father was required to pay $1,047.95 in child support each month. The decree stated it was in accordance with the guidelines in the Texas Family Code, based on the father’s monthly net resources of $4,191.81.

Texas Appeals Court Allows Adult Daughter to Pursue Outstanding Child Support

Published on: July 31, 2020 | by McClure Law Group

If a parent fails to pay court-ordered child support in Texas, the obligee may pursue a number of cumulative remedies. The obligee may seek a contempt of court order, a cumulative money judgment, a child support lien against certain property, a judicial writ of withholding, and an administrative writ of withholding. The court keeps jurisdiction to confirm the amount of arrearages and render a cumulative money judgment for a motion for enforcement that is filed within 10 years of termination of the obligation or the child reaching adult hood. Tex. Fam. Code §157.005.

In a recent case, the appeals court allowed an adult to pursue the child support her father owed after her mother’s death. The father was ordered to pay $250 per month in child support at the time of the divorce in 1980, but did not pay. The mother initiated an enforcement action in 2011, but it was never heard and she died in 2016.

In 2017, the daughter, then 41 years old, served a notice of application for judicial writ of withholding on her father. The father moved to stay the issuance of the income withholding order. The daughter argued the father had failed to timely contest the notice so the arrearages sworn to in the notice had been determined as a matter of law.