Trial Judge’s Award to Father of Child’s Primary Residence and Educational Decisions Was Supported by Sufficient Evidence

Trial Judge’s Award to Father of Child’s Primary Residence and Educational Decisions Was Supported by Sufficient Evidence Mother and Father’s 8 year-old son had lived primarily with Mother since he was 2, when she filed for divorce and moved to Dallas. For 6 years leading up to their 15-day divorce trial, Mother was the primary caretaker and Father shared custody under Temporary Orders. Trial evidence showed ongoing disputes between the parents about parenting, including choice of a pediatrician, how to treat minor medical conditions, overnight guests, travel plans, safety issues, return of the child’s personal items, Mother’s tardiness…Read More

Husband’s Use of Separate Property Funds to Buy House He Titled in His and Wife’s Name was a Gift

Husband’s Use of Separate Property Funds to Buy House He Titled in His and Wife’s Name was a Gift A gift involves a voluntary transfer of property made gratuitously and without consideration. The recipient can prove a gift was made by showing an intent to make the gift, delivery of the property, and its acceptance. The main issue in this proof requirement is intent. Husband in this divorce case had used his inheritance or separate property from his deceased parents to buy a home. He placed title to the home in both his and Wife’s names, which created…Read More

Retained Earnings in SubS Corporation May be Considered in Calculating Net Resources for Child Support

Retained Earnings in SubS Corporation May be Considered in Calculating Net Resources for Child Support Husband was the sole shareholder and officer in a subchapter S corporation that held $55,000 in retained earnings. In their divorce trial, the judge considered the retained earnings to be part of Husband’s net resources for purposes of calculating child support. Retained earnings of a Subchapter S corporation are taxable as personal income remain assets of the corporation, not the shareholder. They are not subject to division of property in a divorce case. Husband therefore argued that his SubS corporation’s retained earnings were…Read More

Grandmother Had Standing to Seek Custody

Grandmother Had Standing to Seek Custody Grandmother’s son and his fiancée, together with their child, lived in Grandmother’s home for most of the child’s life, and Grandmother took care of most of the child’s needs. The child’s Father and Mother moved to another city, where Father died. Mother and the child then moved in with Mother’s parents and enrolled the child in school. Grandmother filed a custody suit, alleging that she had standing to bring the suit because the child lived with her for the majority of his life until the Father’s death, that she had substantial past contact…Read More

Appeals Court Upholds Arbitration Award of Spouses’ Business Entities

Appeals Court Upholds Arbitration Award of Spouses’ Business Entities Husband and Wife had a Premarital Agreement that established their property division if they got divorced. They also agreed that any dispute involving their Premarital Agreement would be decided by binding arbitration. At the time of their divorce, Husband and Wife jointly owned two closely held companies and an oil and gas limited partnership. The arbitrator awarded these business interests as provided in the Premarital Agreement. The arbitration decision also included some clarifications regarding how the parties’ interests in the businesses would be separated. For example, the arbitrator ordered…Read More

Mediation Agreement is Binding on Parties & Court

Mediation Agreement is Binding on Parties & Court Husband and Wife settled their divorce case at mediation, and signed a binding Mediated Settlement Agreement. They then presented a Decree of Divorce to the trial court, which was signed by the judge. Wife then filed a motion to clarify the Mediated Settlement Agreement because the Decree did not include 65 items of personal property she claimed were her separate property. Husband argued the agreement did not award those items to Wife as her separate property. A Mediated Settlement Agreement is binding on the parties and the court. Here, the spouses…Read More

Order to Sell Company Upheld

Order to Sell Company Upheld Husband and Wife signed a Postnuptial Agreement (PNA) that converted Husband’s separate property company to community property and gave each of them 50% interest in the company. The PNA included provisions for valuation and a 50/50 division of their assets if they got divorced. If they could not agree on the value of an asset, they would each have it appraised. If the 2 appraisals were within 10% of each other, the 2 appraisal values would be averaged. If the appraisals were more than 10% apart, then the 2 appraisers would choose a 3rd…Read More

14 Month Old Daughter’s Primary Residence with Father Upheld

14 Month Old Daughter’s Primary Residence with Father Upheld Mother and Father are both physicians. In a 4-day divorce trial, they testified about their move to Fort Bend County so Father could begin a fellowship in pediatric oncology at Baylor College of Medicine, and Mother’s plan to move to Fort Bend County after she completed her residency in Atlanta. After he began his Baylor fellowship, Mother became pregnant and went to Orlando Florida where her parents live for her maternity leave. When their daughter was born, Mother finished her residency in Atlanta, moved to Fort Bend County, then took a…Read More

Private School Tuition Not a “Proven Need” Justifying Child Support Increase; Wife Failed to Refinance House So It Must be Sold

Private School Tuition Not a “Proven Need” Justifying Child Support Increase; Wife Failed to Refinance House So It Must be Sold The Parents’ divorce Decree required Father to pay maximum guideline child support based on his net resources of at least $7,500. Their Decree also ordered Mother to refinance her residence by a certain date and if she did not, it ordered the property to be sold with the proceeds to be paid to her. Father filed a motion to enforce his possession of their son and a motion to enforce the terms regarding Mother’s refinance of her…Read More

Mother Seeking New Job Out of Primary Residence Restricted Area Does Not, Alone, Justify Changing Her Primary Custody

Mother Seeking New Job Out of Primary Residence Restricted Area Does Not, Alone, Justify Changing Her Primary Custody The parents’ divorce Decree named them Joint Managing Conservators with Mother having the exclusive right to designate their child’s primary residence within the state of Texas. Mother received a job offer in Colorado, and then she filed a motion to modify the Decree to allow her to move to Colorado so she could take the new job. Father responded by asking the court to modify the Decree by changing the joint managing conservatorship provisions to alter his possession schedule and…Read More

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