A party to a Texas divorce is entitled to reimbursement to the marital estate when community time, labor, or skills are used to benefit the other party’s separate estate beyond what is needed for maintenance of the separate property.  The trial court has broad discretion to apply equitable principles.  A former wife recently challenged a divorce decree that granted her former husband’s requests for reimbursement and reconstitution of the community estate. According to the appeals court’s opinion, the husband requested a disproportionate share of the community property and reimburseme ..read more

A Domestic Relations (“DRO”) is often used in divorce to address the rights of the former spouse as an alternate payee to receive some or all of a participant’s benefits under a retirement plan.  A trial court generally does not have the authority to render orders after expiration of its plenary power over a final judgment.  If a Texas divorce decree becomes final and unappealable without rendering a DRO, then the trial court only has the authority to render a valid DRO upon a petition and service pursuant to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.  A judgment is rendered when the t ..read more

Appeals of a Texas divorce can be lengthy and may sometimes result in a significant delay in a party receiving the assets they were awarded in the decree.  In some cases, courts may award postjudgment interest on a money judgment.  In a recent case, a Texas appeals court considered whether an award of a brokerage account in a divorce property division authorized postjudgment interest. Case History According to the appeals court’s opinion, the parties got married in the early 1990s and divorced in 2018.  The decree awarded the wife two investment accounts, together valued at $548 ..read more

In a jury trial, the court must submit to the jury the instructions and definitions needed for it to render a verdict.  The court cannot comment directly on the weight of the evidence, but an incidental comment on the weight of the evidence may be acceptable.  Tex. R. Civ. P. 277. A husband recently appealed his divorce decree, arguing the trial court erred in failing to give a requested jury instruction and improperly commenting on the weight of the evidence. The Trial According to the appeals court, the husband petitioned for divorce in August 2019, seeking a disproportionate share ..read more

Spouses have a fiduciary duty toward each other with regard to the community estate and commit fraud on the community if they breach a legal or equitable duty in violation of the fiduciary relationship.  Fraud on the community often occurs when assets are transferred to a third party, but can also occur when it is unaccounted for. If a court determines a spouse committed fraud, it must determine the amount the community estate was depleted and the total value it would have had absent the fraud.  The trial court then divides the reconstituted estate in a just and right manner, which m ..read more

A trial court in a Texas divorce retains subject matter jurisdiction to enforce a decree or to clarify ambiguity in the decree.  Texas strongly favors finality of judgment, so the court may not make substantive changes to the property division in a divorce decree once it has become final.  The court does not have the authority to “amend, modify, alter, or change” the final property division despite errors in characterizing the property or applying the law.   The court may, however, issue orders to clarify an ambiguous decree or to enforce the decree.  A court interpret ..read more

A Texas divorce decree provision that was agreed upon by the parties is construed according to contract principles.  In interpreting the contract, the court considers the entire agreement.  Words are given their plain meaning unless there is an indication the parties intended something else.  A contract is not ambiguous if it can be interpreted with a definite legal meaning.  It is ambiguous if it is subject to more than one reasonable interpretation.  Generally, a court may only consider outside evidence to interpret an ambiguous contract.  A husband recently cha ..read more

A trial court may vacate, modify, correct or reform its judgment or grant a new trial within 30 days after the judgment is signed.  Tex. R. Civ. P. 329b.  Additionally, if a party files a timely motion, the trial court has the power to take those same actions until 30 days after any timely motions are overruled by an order or operation of law.  The court’s plenary power generally expires 30 days after the final judgment is filed if there is not a timely post-judgment motion. Courts generally retain continuing subject-matter jurisdiction to clarify and enforce the property divisi ..read more

A court must order a just and right division of the marital estate in a Texas divorce.  Once the divorce is final and the property has been divided, the property division generally may not be re-litigated.  The trial court does, however, retain the power to clarify and enforce the division.  Tex. Fam. Code § 9.002; Tex. Fam. Code § 9.008. The court may not alter or change the substantive property division, but may render additional orders to enforce, clarify, assist in implementing, or specify the manner of effecting the property division. Tex. Fam. Code § 9.006.  A former ..read more

The court in a Texas divorce must make a just and right division of the marital estate.  The estate does not have to be equally divided if there is a reasonable basis in the record for an unequal division.  A former husband recently challenged, for the second time, the property division in his divorce. The First Appeal In his first appeal, the husband argued the trial court erred in its property division by including the value of a condominium that he claimed belonged to his father.  The appeals court concluded the condominium belonged to the husband, wife, and the husband’s fat ..read more