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…

Voluntary underemployment is a big issue in some divorces. Occasionally, one party to the divorce may try to lower their child support obligation by reducing their income. This is because in most cases the divorce court presumes the child support guidelines are proper. If you suspect your spouse has reduced their income intentionally to reduce child support or other court ordered payments you may be dealing with a case of voluntary underemployment.

Proving voluntary underemployment is important because it allows the family court to deviate from Read more…

The best interest of the child is the primary consideration in determining conservatorship and possession of and access to the child.

Those words are repeated so often by local family court judges in Conroe and Houston that they eventually take on a legendary status. If you or your ex-spouse is behaving or used to behave in a way that allows a judge to question if being with you or your ex-spouse is in the best interest of the child then your access to your child may be restricted, severely in some cases.

Today we are going to look at the case of Richard Walters and his divorce from Deborah Walters. One of the issues in the Walters case was custody of their five year old son, Christopher.

Richard’s divorce attorney presented evidence at trial that: Read more…

Child support payments are often a critical issue in divorce cases filed in the Conroe or Houston Family Law Courts. The parent with custody wants the support payments high enough to help with the costs of raising the child(ren) and the parent without custody wants to be sure the payments are being used for the child(ren). Fortunately, Texas Law provides a starting point for determining child support amounts for cases in Houston and Conroe.

The table below shows the amounts the Court initially considers fair. One critical element your Conroe Divorce Lawyer will work on is determining the Obligor’s Read more…

Frequently you will encounter the acronym SAPCR on this site and other materials concerning family law in The Woodlands or Montgomery County or Harris County. SAPCR stands for “Suit Affecting the Parent Child Relationship.”

What kinds of lawsuits are categorized as SAPCR in the Conroe Divorce Court and Houston Divorce Court?

A lawsuit is classified as an SAPCR based on the relief or result either party is trying to obtain. If you or the other party is suing to accomplish any of the following results then the lawsuit will be treated as an SAPCR: (1) appointment of Read more…

In addition to the laws of Texas, the Montgomery County Courts involved in divorce matters have their own rules. These rules are called local rules and for the most part are procedural to help all cases move through the Conroe courthouse in a timely manner. One important local rule for divorce in Montgomery County, Texas concerns parental counseling.

When you or your spouse file for divorce the Conroe Court will require both of you to attend a brief counseling program. This rule applies in all suits affecting the parent-child relationship and virtually every divorce case that involved children. The Court will only consider waiving the counseling requirement if your Conroe Divorce Lawyer can show good cause.

One important note is the Conroe Divorce Courts may also require counseling as part of modification or enforcement litigation after the divorce is final.

The Woodlands Divorce Resource is here to help you with your divorce, child custody, or other family law issue in Montgomery County or Harris County. Many of our visitors come from the areas of Conroe, Oak Ridge North, Cut and Shoot, and other communities in the Montgomery County area or Houston and North Harris County. If you need legal assistance with your family law issue speak with a The Woodlands Divorce Attorney today.

We previously reviewed the discovery requirements for divorce cases in the Montgomery County Divorce and Family Courts. Today we will look at the required disclosures in the Harris County Divorce Courts in Houston.

The Harris County Divorce Courts require that each party to a suit for divorce or annulment shall, without waiting for a discovery request, provide to the other party the following information about property in which the party claims an interest:

1. all documents pertaining to Read more…