Your final decree of divorce is a binding court order. If your spouse fails to comply with his or her obligations in that court order then your Woodlands Divorce Attorney can petition the court to enforce its decree. One of the most persuasive powers a divorce court has is the power to put someone in jail when they are found in contempt of court due to not following the terms of the court order. There are limits to this power however.

In one  case, the divorce court ordered Alvin to county jail for criminal contempt based on seven instances of failure to pay spousal support as provided for in his divorce decree. The sentence was for 180 days. The spousal support Alvin failed to pay was contractual spousal support that he consented to and was not tied to a legal duty based on the Family Code.

Contractual alimony and court imposed spousal maintenance have some significant differences. The Texas Family Code is very specific as to when the divorce court may impose spousal maintenance and the limits of that maintenance. On the other hand, contractual alimony is a private agreement between parties of a divorce. Further, contractual alimony is a private debt governed by the law of contracts, while spousal maintenance is a legal duty governed by the law of judgments. Therefore, the Supreme Court determined that Alvin’s incarceration based on his failure to pay contractual alimony was unconstitutional since contractual alimony is classified as a private debt and not enforceable by contempt.

Alvin also failed to maintain health insurance as part of his child support obligation. Unlike contractual alimony, a failure to adhere to child support obligations is punishable by contempt because it is based on a legal duty. However, in order for a party to be found in contempt there must be a written judgment of contempt along with a written order of commitment. Additionally, the contempt order cannot contain uncertainty nor can it suffer from multiple meanings. In Alvin’s case the contempt order was unclear as to whether the failure to provide health insurance itself served as the basis for contempt; therefore, the Supreme Court found there were no grounds for contempt and released Alvin.

This case is an important reminder to everyone that your divorce decree only achieves your goals to the extent it can be enforced and the options you have for enforcement. Contact us today at (832) 592-7913 if you need legal help to enforce your Montgomery County divorce decree. If you would like additional information, check out our free Woodlands Divorce Guide.

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

Has your spouse already filed for divorce and you are not sure how to protect yourself?

Are you wondering:

• How much child support is involved in your divorce?
• Is spousal maintenance going to be awarded in your divorce?
• How often will you see your kids after the divorce?
• What is separate property and what is community property?
• What happens to retirement accounts in a divorce?

To help answer some of the most common questions I am proud to announce the release of my Woodlands Divorce Guide available for free download. You can get your copy by clicking on the link below.

The Woodlands Divorce Guide

If you have a question that is not answered in this version of The Guide, post your question in the comments below or contact us and we will consider it for inclusion in future editions.

Yes, and no. If your spouse cooperates you can get divorced and property divided in Texas. However, if your spouse does not cooperate you may be in for a difficult time.

Recently the Houston Court of Appeals confirmed that if the out of state spouse has no contacts at all with Texas then the Texas divorce court does not have authority to divide property and debt. A Texas court does have authority to grant the spouse that lives in Texas a divorce to determine their legal status, but does not always have the authority to divide property and debt. Contact a Woodlands Divorce Lawyer today if you need to get divorced from a spouse that does not live in Texas.

The most common reason for divorce in The Woodlands is the reason of “insupportability.” Insupportability is a “no fault” reason for divorce.

The Texas statutes define insupportability as when the marriage has become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities that destroys the legitimate ends of the marital relationship and prevents any reasonable expectation of reconciliation.

Speak with a Woodlands Divorce Lawyer today if your marriage has become insupportable and divorce is the only option.

1. a domiciliary of Texas for the preceding six-month period; and
2. a resident of the county in which the suit is filed for the preceding 90-day period.

These criteria must be satisfied at the time the petition for divorce is filed. If you file one day too early, your petition does not meet the statutory requirements for divorce in The Woodlands.

Speak with a Woodlands Divorce Lawyer today to protect your rights while going through the difficult divorce process.