In the last year, there were quite a few appeals of cases to enforce property divisions. While there were not any fundamental shifts in the law, the courts further refined the existing law, and issued opinions that should serve as reminders for the family-law practitioner. Courts interpret divorce decree language as they do other judgments. Hagen v. Hagen, 282 S.W.3d 899, 901 (Tex. 2009). “As with other final, unappealed judgments which are regular on their face, divorce de

As part of any divorce, the court must divide the community estate in a manner it deems to be just and right, having due regard for the rights of the parties and any children of the marriage. Tex. Fam. Code § 7.001. To complete this task, the trial court needs to be presented with values of the parties’ assets and liabilities. See Cervenka v. Cervenka , 672 S.W.3d 814, 818 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi–Edinburg 2023, no pet.); Fuentes v. Zaragoza , 555 S.W.3d 141, 164–65 (Tex. Ap

The Texas Family Code statutes addressing reimbursement claims in divorce proceedings were completely rewritten in the last legislative session. The Legislature explicitly stated that its intended purpose was as follows: State law regarding reimbursement and economic contribution with respect to marital property rights can be very confusing to those not well versed in the history of such law, as it is often misinterpreted and misunderstood by litigants, practitioners, and c

Once a divorce is final, the trial court lacks any authority to modify that final decree’s property division. Tex. Fam. Code § 9.007(a). However, the court retains the power to clarify an order that is not specific enough to be enforceable by contempt. Tex. Fam. Code § 9.008. Thus, in a clarifying order, like judgments nunc pro tunc, the court cannot clarify (or correct) judicial errors—only clerical ones. A clerical error is a discrepancy between entry of a judgment in the o

New trials may be granted and a judgment may be set aside for good cause. Tex. R. Civ. P. 320. Ineffective Service A defendant can directly attack a default judgment by a motion for new trial, a restricted appeal, or a bill of review. See PNS Stores v. Rivera, 379 S.W.3d 267, 271 (Tex. 2012). When a no-answer default judgment is challenged by a direct attack, the record must show strict compliance with the manner and mode of service; otherwise, the service is invalid and the

Divorces and SAPCRs can be resolved through arbitration proceedings. See Tex. Fam. Code §§ 6.601, 153.0071(a). Generally, an agreement by the parties to submit a divorce with children to binding arbitration is governed by both the Family Code and the Texas Arbitration Act (“TAA”). See In re Cartwright, 104 S.W.3d 706, 711 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2003, orig. proceeding). Unless the Texas Family Code and TAA provisions conflict, the TAA supplements the Family Code’s arbi

Appellate courts generally do not award fees. For an appellee to be awarded fees, the appellee generally must file a cross-appeal because the appellee would be asking for greater relief than what was received in the trial court. Souffer v. Levine & Father Operating Corp., No. 05-19-00001-CV, 2020 WL 3410636, at *4 (Tex. App.—Dallas, 2020, no pet.) (mem. op.); Tex. R. App. P. 25.1(c). If an appellant appeals and wins, the appellate court often will remand the case to the trial

In family law, the Texas Legislature has made mediated settlement agreements (“MSAs”) binding on the parties if the MSA provides, in a prominently displayed statement that is in boldfaced type or capital letters or underlined, that the agreement is not subject to revocation and is signed by each of the parties and their respective attorneys, if any. Tex. Fam. Code §§ 6.602(b), 153.0071(d). (Note that the statute only requires bold, capital, OR underlined text; although, it is

At the end of the trial, appeal may or may not be foremost on your mind, but questioning whether to request findings of fact and conclusions of law (“findings”) should be on your closing checklist in every case due to the short deadlines for making a request. After a bench trial, a party may ask the court to state in writing its findings. Tex. R. Civ. P. 296. In ordinary cases, a party only has 20 days after the judgment is signed to request findings. Tex. R. Civ. P. 296; Tex

Because Texas is a community-property state, all marital property is characterized and “separate,” “community,” or “mixed.” See Hilley v. Hilley, 342 S.W.2d 565, 567 (Tex. 1961); Gleich v. Bongio, 99 S.W.2d 881, 883 (Tex. 1937). Separate property is that which is acquired by either spouse: before marriage—either owned or claimed, Tex. Const. art. 16 § 15; Tex. Fam. Code § 3.001(1); by devise or decent, Tex. Const. art. 16 § 15; Tex. Fam. Code § 3.001(2); or by a gift from a t

A court can order one party to provide periodic financial support for the other after a divorce. Tex. Fam. Code ch. 8 (“Spousal Maintenance”). To be eligible for spousal maintenance, the petitioner must prove that she (1) is a spouse; (2) lacks sufficient property to provide for her minimum reasonable needs; and (3) has met one of the four statutory bases for spousal maintenance: ten-year marriage; family violence; disabled spouse; or disabled child. See Tex. Fam. Code § 8.05

Judicial notice can be a time-saving method to get evidence that has been previously presented into the current record. See Tex. R. Evid. 201–204. A court can take judicial notice of its own records (e.g., pleadings, affidavits, orders, judgments) in a case involving the same, or practically the same parties. See e.g., In re S.M.R., 434 S.W.3d 576, 582 (Tex. 2014 (in case terminating parental rights, court took notice of prior order granting temporary managing conservatorship

An order for contempt must be supported by a reasonably specific underlying order. To hold a party in contempt for violating a court...

In a suit for conservatorship, a trial court must consider the best interest of the child and should consider applicable Texas public policy. See Tex. Fam. Code §§ 153.001, 153.002. The appointment of both parents as joint managing conservators is presumed to be in a child’s best interest. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.131(b). The court should make a conservatorship order that ensures the child has frequent and continuing contact with parents who have shown the ability to act in the b

In a suit for divorce, the petition may not be taken as confessed if the respondent does not file an answer. Tex. Fam. Code § 6.701. So, in reality, there is no such thing as a “default” divorce. The petitioner must present evidence to support all the material allegations in the petition. Vazquez v. Vazquez, 292 S.W.3d 80, 83–84. (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, no pet.). Testifying about some, but not all, of the parties’ property is insufficient to support a default ju

The new discovery rules are on everyone’s minds as we begin 2021. For the most part, discovery rulings are “incidental” rulings not subject to mandamus relief, but if the ruling completely hamstrings your ability to present your case or seeks discovery not permitted by the Rules, a petition for writ of mandamus may be necessary to protect your client’s rights. The new rules impose a duty of disclosure without the need for a request; however, the duty can be exempted by agreem

We generally think of the 30-day window after a final order as the only time in which a party can appeal. However, if there was clear...

There is an entire chapter of the Texas Family Code devoted to modification of child-related orders. However, a property division—like...

(Beth is introduced at about 34:00)