Many people believe property is divided in half as a result of divorce. It certainly sounds reasonable on many levels. Equal division of property is the standard in some other states, but not in Texas. You can end up with a lot more, or a lot less, than 50% of the community property so you better understand the legal standard the judge is going to use.

It may not mean much to you right now, but if you have significant property to divide in your Woodlands Divorce case then the words “just and right” may end up haunting you if you are not prepared. “Just and Right” is Read more…

Deadlines are very important in the legal field. Simply missing a deadline can destroy your case even if you should win on all of the substantive issues. One of the most important deadlines I encounter as a Woodlands Divorce Attorney is the statute of limitations to enforce a division of property contained in a divorce decree.

It happens all too often that after a divorce is finalized by the parties reaching an agreement on paper or a judge issuing an order that one party drags their feet in dividing or turning over property. What can you do? Enforce your rights before you lose them.

The Family Code provides that a lawsuit to enforce the division of tangible personal property in existence at the time of the decree of divorce or annulment must be filed before Read more…

Last time we reviewed the basic criteria for you or your ex-spouse to pursue a spousal maintenance or alimony claim in your Woodlands Divorce. If you or your spouse does meet the threshold criteria to qualify for spousal maintenance in your divorce case some important questions remain. How much alimony will you pay or receive and for how long will the payments last? Your Woodlands Divorce Attorney can help you answer these questions.

How Much Spousal Maintenance?

The standard the court uses in setting spousal maintenance is to provide for the minimum reasonable needs of the spouse eligible for alimony, considering Read more…

Alimony and spousal maintenance are still alive. In certain situations spousal maintenance is an option and it may be one of the issues you have to discuss with your Woodlands Divorce Attorney. One of those situations is if your marriage lasted more than 10 years either spouse may be eligible for alimony or spousal maintenance.

Alimony is not automatic once your marriage crosses the 10 year mark. There are several additional key criteria that must be established before a judge can order alimony. Specifically, the spouse seeking support must show that he or she Read more…

It is very common for a couple to make improvements to their home during the course of their marriage. But what happens when one spouse uses separate property they received as an inheritance to make home improvements? Through careful review of the evidence your Woodlands divorce lawyer can increase your chance of winning or defending a claim for reimbursement as part of your Montgomery County divorce.

Alfred Baker was married in 1984. In 1996 he received an inheritance of $300,000 and placed it in separate accounts, not marital bank accounts. As we’ve discussed earlier, an inheritance received during the course of a marriage is separate property and not community property. With these funds, Alfred spent $104,000 to pay off the mortgage and $50,000 on home improvements. Unfortunately Alfred’s marriage broke down and his wife filed for divorce in 2006.

In divorce court, Alfred’s wife agreed that he spent $104,000 on the mortgage. Her divorce attorney disputed the $50,000 reimbursement for home improvement and the judge was left to decide the issue.

The divorce court judge Read more…

In the last post I went through the requirements for identifying certain property as “separate property” in your divorce case for Montgomery County or Houston. Here we will review the rules for identifying community property.

Community property is everything acquired during the marriage that is not properly identified as separate property. The Conroe and Houston Divorce Courts must presume that all property acquired during the marriage is community property unless either spouse can prove to the court by clear and convincing evidence that certain items are protected as separate property.

When Does This Presumption End? Read more…

Texas is a Community Property state. The Montgomery County Divorce Court and the Houston Divorce Court treat separate property and community property differently when it comes to dividing property as part of a divorce proceeding. So what exactly is “separate property?”

Separate property is: Read more…