In every Woodlands Divorce case your attorney will review the assets and debts that exist between you and your spouse. After the assets and debts are identified your Woodlands Divorce Attorney will then work with you to discover which assets may qualify as separate property and can benefit from the special protections available to separate property in a divorce. If you or your spouse received funds as part of a personal injury settlement, a portion of the settlement or award may have been categorized as punitive or exemplary damages. Are punitive damages community property or separate property? Read more…

If you see the commercials for legalzoom and other document sellers you might think legal documents are simple or all the same. They may want you to think that, but remember: if there is a mistake in your Woodlands Divorce documents then you will be the one suffering the consequences and not them. Some of these mistakes are quickly discovered and can be fixed, while others remain undiscovered for years and then surface to create unintended results when it is too late to fix them.

One ex-wife recently found herself in court again ten years after her divorce was finalized. The reason: her divorce decree was flawed and a piece of property worth $69,594.06 that she thought was hers was paid out to her ex-husband’s second wife. Let’s take a look at the details.

Husband and ex-wife divorced after forty years of marriage. The divorce decree awarded husband and ex-wife each one-half of the yearly payments from husband’s pension savings plan. Following the divorce, husband met and married second wife. After husband‘s death ten years later, the balance remaining in the pension savings plan was paid to second wife as the designated beneficiary of the account.

Ex-wife filed suit against second wife claiming that, pursuant to the divorce decree, one-half of the plan’s balance was hers. The Court noted that although the decree distributed the pension plan’s yearly payments, it did not provide for the plan‘s balance. Thus, the effect of the defective decree’s language left the balance as undivided community property. As a result, ex-wife became a cotenant of her one-half share of the undivided balance, and sued second wife to obtain her half of the property.

A Costly Mistake

In this case the ex-wife successfully recovered the one-half of the retirement account that she believed was hers. She had to incur additional legal fees and the uncertainty of going to court to do it, however. In addition, the second wife made a critical mistake and accidentally waived a legal argument that may very well have resulted in the court deciding the case in her favor. Keep this in mind if you find yourself having to choose between the $299 legalzoom divorce and an experienced Woodlands Divorce attorney. Contact us today at (832) 592-7913 if you need experienced legal help with your Montgomery County divorce case.

If you would like additional information, check out our free Woodlands Divorce Guide.

Yesterday I was at the Montgomery County courthouse and decided to sit in on the pro se divorce and family docket of the 418th District Court. It was a wonderful reminder that even what you might consider to be a “simple” case may not be so simple when you are asking the judge to sign the order you have submitted. And if the judge does not want to sign a proposed order written from someone in another state that is not even an attorney and sold for $50 on the internet then you go home empty handed to try again.

The Numbers

Let’s start with numbers. Out of everyone there at the 418th hoping to get their case finalized yesterday, the judge determined that half of them were not ready to be finalized for either procedural or substantive issues. And this was within the first ten minutes. Of the remaining cases, about half of those were ready to proceed and were finalized and the balance were left to make an appointment with the staff attorney to attempt to correct the errors. If you are keeping score at home, that is about 25% of the cases on the pro se divorce and family docket yesterday were completed. The rest were left to fix their mistakes and come back in up to six months later when the next opening on the docket is. And during that extra time you remain married each of you are still accumulating community property and community debt.

Are You A Gambler?

If you were at a casino and somebody offered you a game of chance where you only had a 25% chance of winning and a 75% chance of losing, how would you feel? Probably not a good bet to make in my opinion. That is basically what unfolded yesterday; a lot of people made a bad bet. Are you going to make the same bet?

The Alternative

If you don’t like to gamble or wait for many months until an opening on the pro se docket exists you can get your Montgomery County uncontested divorce done quickly with an experienced Woodlands Divorce Lawyer. Call me at (832) 592-7913 to get started.

The Texas Legislature made extensive revisions to the alimony and spousal maintenance provisions that went into effect on September 1. If you are filing for divorce in a marriage that lasted longer than ten years make sure your Woodlands Divorce Lawyer is familiar with these new rules. Today we will look at the changes made to the amount of alimony and the duration of alimony.

The previous maximum amount of alimony was $2,500 per month. Now, the maximum is $5,000 per month. The minimum amount remains at 20% of the average monthly income. This change impacts spouses that earn more than $12,500 per month because their amount of alimony payments just went up. For example, under the old system if the spouse earned $15,000 per month the maximum alimony payment was still $2,500. Now, the maximum alimony payment is $3,000 which is 20% of monthly income.

The duration of alimony and spousal maintenance payments was also increased. The previous limit was three years, no matter what. Now a sliding scale is in place.

1. If the marriage lasted at least 10 years but not more than 20 years, the court can order alimony and maintenance payments to continue for five years;
2. If the marriage lasted at least 20 years but not more than 30 years, the court can order alimony and maintenance payments to continue for seven years;
3. If the marriage lasted more than 30 years, the court can order alimony and maintenance payments to continue for ten years.

Remember folks, there is no legal separation in Texas and you are still married for the purposes of calculating alimony and maintenance payments until the court enters your final divorce order. Dragging your feet just got potentially a lot more expensive. Contact us today at (832) 592-7913 if you are contemplating dissolving your marriage and have questions concerning your financial future and whether you could be eligible or liable for spousal support under the expanded provisions of the new law.

If you would like additional information, check out our free Woodlands Divorce Guide.

The Office of the Attorney General has broad powers to file a child support action. These powers include filing a new case, filing a suit for modification, or a suit for enforcement. However, as we’ve discussed before, there are special provisions when child support for adult disabled children is the issue.

In a recent case the Attorney General filed a suit to modify the child support obligation of a Harris County father for the benefit of his two disabled children who were each no longer under the age of 18. The father’s child support attorney reviewed the law and challenged the authority of the Attorney General to file the child support modification lawsuit.

The Texas Family Code specifically outlines which individuals have the authority to file a lawsuit for child support for adult disabled children. These individuals are:

1. a parent of the child or another person having physical custody or guardianship of the child under a court order;  or
2. the child if the child: (a) is 18 years of age or older; (b) does not have a mental disability;  and (c) is determined by the court to be capable of managing the child’s financial affairs.

The statute does not mention the Attorney General and after careful consideration the court found that the Attorney General does not have inherent authority to file a lawsuit concerning child support for an adult disabled child. The outcome may have been different if an individual who did have proper authority assigned their rights to the Attorney General.

This case is an important reminder that the Attorney General makes mistakes and even they are not above the law. If you want something done right then consider an experienced child support lawyer. Contact us today at (832) 592-7913 if you need legal help with your Montgomery County child support case.

If you would like additional information, check out our free Woodlands Divorce Guide.

Did that house you owned before marriage and then refinanced during marriage become community property? This is a very common question that comes up in a Woodlands Divorce, usually as the result of rushing through the refinance process without considering the impact certain documents can have on characterizing the house as separate property or community property. Separate property is always separate property, that much is true; however, if you change the title on separate property you may have accidentally given up the protection separate property has in a divorce.

As we’ve discussed before, separate property is property acquired before the marriage. It is important to identify separate property because in a divorce case the judge does not have the authority to award your ex-spouse your separate property, the judge can only divide community property. As long as the name on the title of separate property does not change it will remain separate property. Unfortunately in a refinance transaction the lenders usually end up having people name their spouse as co-owners of the property. During the refinance process your lender may have told you that it would be quicker or easier to have both spouses on everything. That may be true for them, but it could have put you in great jeopardy.

If you accidentally made your spouse a co-owner of the home during the marriage then you have opened yourself up to a hornet’s nest of community property litigation in your Woodlands Divorce case which could have been avoided with some careful planning ahead of time. Contact us today at (832) 592-7913 if you need to protect your rights to separate or community property.

Check out our free Woodlands Divorce Guide if you need more answers.

A parent’s child support obligation from a Woodlands Divorce generally ends when the child reaches 18 unless the child is disabled. Some parents mistakenly believe that if they drag their feet and avoid paying the child support they are ordered to when they are ordered to pay it that everyone will forget about it and move on. Unfortunately for them, a deadbeat parent can be sued for unpaid child support many years after the child reaches 18; many, many years.

Let’s take a look at one recent example from the Houston Appellate Court. In this case, the Mother and father divorced in 1972. The divorce decree ordered father to pay $50 per month in child support. In 2009, the mother filed an application for a writ of withholding alleging father owed $78,164 in unpaid child support. She won at the trial level and the decision stood on appeal.

Dormancy Does Not Apply

In ordinary civil lawsuits you can only obtain a judicial order to execute a judgment within 10 years of the judgment. If you ask the court to execute a judgment 11 years later they do not have jurisdiction. This case highlights the fact that dormancy does not apply to child support judgments.

If your ex-spouse did not pay their child support and your child is now over 18 call us at (832) 592-7913 and speak with a Woodlands Divorce Attorney about collecting the overdue child support. It is never too late to get what you are owed, even 37 years after the original child support order.

The Standard Possession Order put in place by the legislature and used in many Woodlands Divorce cases is designed for children 3 years of age and older. If a child less than 3 years old is involved in a Woodlands Divorce, then the visitation schedule that is in the best interest of the child is a lot less clear. A new bill introduced in the legislature recently seeks to elaborate on how visitation schedules for children less than 3 should be created.

The Bill is SB 820. The way the bill is written as it was introduced it seeks to add the following to the Texas Family Code:

(a) In rendering the order, the court shall consider evidence of all relevant factors, including:
(1) the caregiving provided to the child before and during the current suit;
(2) the effect on the child that may result from separation from either party;
(3) the availability of the parties as caregivers and the willingness of the parties to personally care for the child;
(4) the physical, medical, behavioral, and developmental needs of the child;
(5) the physical, medical, emotional, economic, and social conditions of the parties;
(6) the impact and influence of individuals, other than the parties, who will be present during periods of possession;
(7) the presence of siblings during periods of possession;
(8) the child’s need to develop healthy attachments to both parents;
(9) the child’s need for continuity of routine;
(10) the location and proximity of the residences of the parties;
(11) the need for a temporary possession schedule that incrementally shifts to the schedule provided in the prospective order under Subsection (d) based on: (A) the age of the child; or (B) minimal or inconsistent contact with the child by a party;
(12) the ability of the parties to share in the responsibilities, rights, and duties of parenting; and
(13) any other evidence of the best interest of the child.

(b) Notwithstanding the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, in rendering an order under Subsection (a), the court shall make findings in support of the order if:
(1) a party files a written request with the court not later than the 10th day after the date of the hearing; or
(2) a party makes an oral request in court during the hearing on the order.

(c) The court shall make and enter the findings required by Subsection (b) not later than the 15th day after the date the party makes the request.

It is too soon to tell if this will be the new law of the land in Woodlands Divorce cases or if it will make it through the legislative process in a modified form. Call us at (832) 592-7913 if you need to speak with a Woodlands Divorce Lawyer about your divorce case in The Woodlands or anywhere in Montgomery County. For additional free information on divorce in The Woodlands, download my free guide The Woodlands Divorce Guide

It is not difficult to find people that have good things to say about their decision to get divorced without destruction through the Collaborative Divorce process. Not only can it save your relationship with your kids, the flexibility of collaborative divorce may allow you to resolve the disputed issues in a custom manner that is just not available when everyone punts the decision making process to a judge that knows next to nothing about you. On top of that, this stranger is going to make some very important decisions about your life based on hearing the absolute worst about you from your spouse in an ugly drawn out litigated divorce. Is that your ideal outcome? Take some time to read these experiences and give it some thought.

We both wanted out of the marriage, but we didn’t want our children to “pay” for our mistakes. … The “process” allowed my ex and I to remain focused on this goal, rather than being focused on “getting” the other person. … Once we started working together to craft a solution we both thought was fair, we had incentive to work together – giving and taking – to reach a truly fair outcome.  Through the collaborative divorce process we learned many creative ways to divide and preserve assets that we never would have thought possible.  For instance, keeping the only home that the boys had ever known was extremely important to me and my children, but less important to my ex.  Neither of us would have guessed that I could “buy” him out of his share of the equity in the house by giving him other assets that appeared on the balance sheet – achieving both of our goals (mine to keep the house, his to get rid of it). …Through our realtor and mortgage expert we learned how we could refinance our current house to a lower interest rate, and still allow my ex to purchase another house.  I sincerely believe that we would not have known about or explored ANY of these options (and many more) unless we had used the collaborative divorce process….I was burdened by both personal health issues and family health issues during our divorce.  The collaborative process allowed us to craft our solution on our own timeline – around my chaotic and unpredictable schedule.  This took a horrible burden off of my shoulders at a time that I *really* needed that flexibility and understanding from the divorce process. … Neither of us felt that anyone was out to “get” us.  I never felt that my ex’s lawyer was looking for ways to exploit me:  she focused on both of our stated goals, as did my lawyer.  “Everyone” was looking for a win-win outcome for every topic we had to address.  I can’t emphasize enough how much this meant to me during what was a terribly difficult transition in my life!

Remember, not every attorney is trained or appropriate to represent someone in a Collaborative Divorce. Contact The Shea Law Firm at (832) 592-7913 to speak with a Collaborative Divorce attorney in The Woodlands or locate a trained collaborative divorce attorney near you at http://www.collablawtexas.com/locate-a-collaborative-law-professional

Confused? Learn the differences between an uncontested divorce, a litigated divorce, and a collaborative divorce in my free Woodlands Divorce Guide