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

Although the Texas Family Code provides great detail as to how property is to be handled during marriage and divorce, not everyone likes the way Texas handles marital property. Sometimes couples get married and settle down in Texas simply because they like the weather, but they may not like the idea of “community property” or some other standard aspect of Texas family law. Thus, in the same way that people may make end-of-life plans with a will rather than leaving the distrib

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

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

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

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