Property

Discrepancies Between Texas Divorce Decree and Property-Division Agreement

Published on: June 13, 2022 | by Francesca Blackard

iStock-1125625723-300x200 When parties to a Texas divorce agree to a property division, the final judgment based on the agreement must strictly comply with it. The trial court cannot add, change, or leave out material terms. A final judgment based on a property division agreement must be set aside if it is not in strict compliance with the agreement, unless the discrepancy is a clerical error. An appeals court may modify a judgment to correct a clerical error. A former husband recently challenged the property division in his divorce due to a number of alleged discrepancies.

Husband and Wife Submitted Proposed Property Division

According to the appeals court’s opinion, the parties agreed to a proposed property division, identified as “Exhibit A.” The wife testified the division was fair and just. She agreed to split funds in the husband’s IRA equally after he was credited $90,000 as separate property and to split the funds in his “Edge” and “Smart” retirement plans equally.

The husband initially disagreed with the property division in Exhibit A, but later asked the court to approve it. The trial court admitted the document into evidence, asked the parties to draft and sign an agreed final decree.

Separate Property and Tort Claims in Texas Divorce

Published on: April 7, 2022 | by Francesca Blackard

Divorce-property-fraud-300x273 Property in the possession of either spouse at the time of dissolution of marriage is presumed to be community property under Texas family law. A spouse may rebut this presumption by tracing and clearly identifying the separate property. That spouse must present evidence of the time and means of acquisition of the property. The property remains separate if the spouse can trace the assets back to separate property. Testimony is generally not enough to overcome the community-property presumption. The spouse must have clear and convincing evidence the property is separate. Tex. Fam. Code § 3.003.

An appeals court recently considered tort claims within a divorce case arising from the purchase of a business. When the parties married in 2014, the wife owned a 49% interest in her optometry practice. She offered to buy the remaining interest in 2015. Her husband and another attorney in his firm helped negotiate the deal.

Wife Brings Tort Claims in Divorce Suit

The wife petitioned for divorce in September 2018. She added claims of fraud, theft, and breach of fiduciary duty to her petition, arguing husband failed to structure that purchase as separate property and allowed her separate property to be converted to community property.

Former Spouse Cannot File New Suit for Division of Property Disposed of in Texas Divorce

Published on: December 22, 2021 | by Francesca Blackard

iStock-545456068-300x184 A trial court may order a post-divorce division of community property that was not divided or awarded to either spouse in a Texas divorce decree. Tex. Fam. Code § 9.201. The court may not, however, order a post-divorce division of property that was already divided in the divorce. The legal doctrine of res judicata prevents a party from re-litigating issues such as categorization of assets or improper division in a new case. Parties must instead address such issues through direct appeals. In a recent case, a wife sought a post-divorce division of certain bonuses the husband received after the divorce.

The parties married in 2014, and the wife petitioned for divorce the next year. The husband included several bonuses in his asset inventory. He listed a $0 value for the bonuses that would only be payable after the divorce if he remained employed on the designated date. He testified they had no value because they were conditional on future events.

The wife argued the future bonuses were deferred compensation for work performed during the marriage and estimated their value at more than $4 million.

Compelling Texas Divorce Court to Specify Property Valuation

Published on: October 19, 2021 | by Francesca Blackard

iStock-483613578 A trial court that has divided property in a Texas divorce must provide written findings of fact and conclusions of law, including how it characterized and valued the assets and liabilities, if a party properly requests them. In a recent case, a husband challenged the court’s refusal to specify the valuation it used for the parties’ assets when there was no request for findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Wife Seeks Fault-Based Divorce

When the wife filed for divorce, she asked for a disproportionate share of the community estate. She claimed the husband was at fault in the break-up of the marriage.

The wife submitted a spreadsheet of the assets she requested showing both her and the husband’s valuation of each. She valued the assets she requested at $2,084,714, and the husband valued them at $2,585,450. She also presented a spreadsheet of the assets she proposed be awarded to the husband, with her valuation totaling $2,662,329 and the husband’s totaling $2,612,102.

Disparity in Retirement Benefits in Texas Divorce

Published on: September 26, 2021 | by Francesca Blackard

iStock-654702696 A court dividing property in a Texas divorce must do so in a “just and right” manner. The division does not have to be equal if the court has a reasonable basis to order a disproportionate division of the community estate. Texas courts have recognized a number of non-exclusive factors a court may consider, including differences in the parties’ earning capacities or incomes, difference in their ages, their relative financial circumstances, and the value of their separate estates.

A former husband recently challenged a property division, arguing the court had intended to achieve an equal distribution, but did not do so.

Comparative Circumstances of the Parties

The parties married in 1986 and the husband petitioned for divorce in 2019. The husband testified he was 57 years old and the wife was 56. Both parties were engineers. He testified they earned about the same amount each year and both were healthy. The both had substantial retirement benefits.

Wife Waived Right to Tax Reimbursement by Failing to Comply with Texas Divorce

Published on: July 25, 2021 | by Kelly McClure

does-adultery-affect-alimony-in-idaho-1080x600-1 When the parties to a Texas divorce agree on a property division, they may agree that certain obligations or conditions must be met. If a party fails to meet their obligations as agreed to and set forth in the divorce decree, they may not be entitled to the property they were expecting. In a recent case, a husband challenged a court order requiring him to reimburse the wife for certain tax liabilities after she failed to provide him the documentation required to calculate the amount he owed in accordance with the decree.

Wife Fails to Comply with Requirements of Divorce Decree

The parties’ mediated settlement agreement was incorporated into their divorce decree. The decree required the wife to withdraw funds from the husband’s pension plan. After paying certain debts, her attorney was to distribute 30% of the remainder to the wife and 70% to the husband. The decree required the husband to reimburse the wife 70% of her income tax liability for those funds. The decree ordered the wife have two draft income tax returns prepared, one showing the pension plan funds as income and the other not including the funds, to allow the husband to calculate that reimbursement. She was to provide the husband with the draft returns by June 1 of the year after the year the funds were liquidated.

The wife hired a tax preparation company. The first draft return was a joint return with her new husband and included his wages, her wages, her social security disability income, and the liquidated pension plan funds. The second draft return indicated it was a joint return, but only included her wages. She sent the drafts to the husband before the deadline. He informed her he needed a draft return that included only her wages and the liquidated pension plan funds. The wife went back to the tax preparer multiple times, but said they kept getting it wrong.

Military Disability Cannot Be Divided by Texas Divorce Court

Published on: May 31, 2021 | by Kelly McClure

iStock-543681178 Under federal law, a court may not treat military disability benefits as community property for purposes of property distribution in a Texas divorce case. A husband recently challenged the property distribution in his divorce decree, arguing the court had improperly divided a portion of his military disability benefits.

Trial Court Divides Husband’s Military Retirement Benefits

The wife petitioned for divorce and sought a majority of the community assets. The court granted the divorce on grounds of insupportability and adultery. The decree gave the wife 55% of the husband’s disposable military retired pay, attorney’s fees, and conditional appellate attorney’s fees. The husband appealed.

The husband contended the 55% of his disposable military retired pay awarded to the wife erroneously included disability payments. The wife, however, argued the award did not include disability benefits and the decree had specifically awarded him his “VA Disability and Social Security Disability benefits” as separate property.

Trial or Contested Hearing Required to Determine Disputed Texas Property Division

Published on: May 24, 2021 | by Francesca Blackard

iStock-483613578 In a Texas divorce, a jury may decide issues regarding the characterization and valuation of property, but the judge is responsible for actually dividing the community property in a just and right manner. The court may consider a number of factors, including fault, education, ages and physical conditions, financial conditions, and the amount of separate property. Generally, the court must hold an evidentiary hearing or trial, unless the parties agree on the property division.

Wife Argues Trial Court Did Not Hear Property Issues

In a recent case, a wife appealed a property division, arguing the court failed to hold a hearing on the property division.

The parties married in 2003 and the husband filed for divorce in 2017. The jury did not hear the property division issues, which were reserved for the trial court. The court stated that it would try those issues during the jury deliberations if there was time or would otherwise schedule a date after the verdict on the issues related to the children.

Equitable Property Distribution in Texas Divorce

Published on: April 11, 2021 | by McClure Law Group

does-adultery-affect-alimony-in-idaho-1080x600-1 In a Texas divorce, the court must divide the property in a just and right manner. The requirement is that the division be equitable, but not necessarily equal. The Texas Supreme Court identified several factors courts should consider in Murff v. Murff. These factors include the parties’ physical conditions, education, financial condition, abilities, and ages. A husband recently challenged a trial court’s division of the marital property following a mediated settlement agreement between the parties.

The parties married in 1999 and the wife initiated divorce proceedings in 2017. Pursuant to a temporary order, the marital home was sold and about $500,000 in sales proceeds were put into an escrow account. The court signed an agreed order allowing disbursement of an equal portion of the proceeds to pay each party’s divorce attorneys. The rest of the proceeds was left in the escrow account.

Property Division in Texas Default Divorce Judgment

Published on: March 7, 2021 | by Francesca Blackard

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In some Texas divorce cases, a party fails to file an answer to the divorce petition or otherwise participate in the divorce proceedings in any way. When a court divides property in a Texas divorce, it must do so in a “just and right” manner. TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 7.001. However, to do so, the court must have sufficient evidence of the value of the community estate, even if one of the parties does not participate in the proceedings. Even if their spouse fails to file an answer, the petitioner in a divorce case must present evidence supporting the material allegations in the petition. If a trial court divides the property without sufficient evidence of the value of the assets to make a just and right division, the division may be subject to reversal on appeal, even if the appealing spouse failed to respond and the court issued a default judgment.

In a recent case, a husband challenged a default judgment granting his wife a divorce and dividing their property, arguing there was insufficient evidence to support the property division.