Family Law Monitor Legislative Update
The Texas Legislature met again for the 2021 session. Below is a brief summary of the changes made at the 2021 session. Changes to the Possession Schedule In the past, the Family Code used two different possession...
Read MoreSpecial Needs Trust
A priority of many estate-planning parents is making sure that their children continue to have the care that they need after the parents are gone. This can be an especially salient concern for parents whose children are...
Read MoreDividing a Business in a Texas Divorce
As with all other property, family-owned businesses undergo a two-step evaluation process during divorce. This process is comprised of (1) characterization and (2) valuation. Through characterization, the business is determined...
Read MoreJoinder of a Third-Party Business or Trust in a Divorce
The issue of joinder may arise in several legal situations, including in a divorce. If one spouse has transferred marital assets to a third party before the divorce, or if a third party has a legitimate claim to marital...
Read MoreFraud on the Community & Waste Claim
A spouse may assert a claim for fraud on the community during a divorce when their partner has improperly disposed of community assets. Fraud on the community may be either actual or constructive, and it may entitle the...
Read MoreCourt-Ordered Spousal Maintenance in Texas
As discussed in our article regarding how Texas family law differs from that of other states, Texas permits spouses to agree to alimony through a contractual alimony agreement. But what about instances where there is no...
Read MoreInvasion of Privacy During a Texas Divorce
Leading up to or during a divorce, spouses may be more tempted than usual to gather information on one another. And because of the close nature of married life, they may not recognize that their spouse has a right to privacy...
Read MoreWhat is a Legal Trust?
A legal trust refers to an arrangement by which an individual (i.e., the grantor, trustor, or settlor) creates a trust. Another individual, the “trustee,” holds legal title to the trust property for yet another individual,...
Read MoreProperty Division in Texas: the “Community Property” Scheme
States can differ significantly with regards to the schemes and laws that they apply to family law cases. For example, certain rules may apply to a divorce in California, while quite different rules may apply to a divorce in...
Read MoreTexas Family Law – Compared With Other States
It is no secret that the law has enormous effects on many aspects of our lives. Nowhere are these effects more pronounced, perhaps, than in the family law context. The Texas Legislature has created laws that govern the creation...
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Determining Parenthood – Redefining the Edge
In recent years, our conception of the “family” has broadened to include a wider variety of...
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FAMILY LAW MONITOR: Case Update: In re C.C. (19-0694)
Recently, the hashtag #LetHerStay has trended on social media sites. The case from which this...
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