legal blog

Most Texas divorces do not need a financial expert. The ones that do almost always benefit far more than the expert costs. The question of whether to hire one is one of the most consequential strategic decisions in any divorce involving meaningful assets — and the wrong answer in either direction is expensive. Hire when you don’t need to, and you’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars chasing a question that wasn’t there. Don’t hire when you should have, and you’ve left far mo

Most people walk into a family law attorney’s office without a clear picture of what’s coming. The not-knowing is often worse than the process itself. The case feels enormous when the path is invisible, and merely seeing the steps written out tends to make the next six to twelve months easier to handle. Here is an honest look at what a Texas divorce actually involves — what we’ll ask you, what the timeline looks like, what custody and child support really mean, what it costs,

Most clients think a divorce is over when the judge signs the decree. That is a common — and expensive — misconception in family law. A Texas divorce decree is a court order that says what each spouse owns, owes, and is entitled to. But the decree alone does not move the property. It does not transfer the house into one spouse’s name. It does not split the 401(k). It does not take your ex off the car title. Those steps require separate documents — and if they aren’t done corr

Tracing Defined When a married couple in Texas divorces , all of their property must be classified as either community property or separate property. Because one spouse’s separate property is usually not subject to division by a court and remains their separate property after the divorce, this categorization can be very important. However, the spouse claiming something as their separate property has the burden of proving that fact to the court. Take this example: Wife bough

When contemplating or going through a divorce, spouses are often tempted to gather potentially useful information on one another. But every person in Texas has a right to privacy, and there is no exception for spouses or co-parents. Unless you’re careful to follow the law, evidence gathering can lead you to invade the privacy of your soon-to-be ex. Doing this will not only make the divorce more contentious but may also give your ex-spouse a separate cause of action against yo

Oftentimes, when spouses are involved in a contentious divorce or custody action, many fact issues can come down to he said/she said arguments. To avoid that, some people consider recording their conversations with their former partners. However, before doing so, it’s important to understand the legal and ethical issues involved. There is both a Texas state law and a federal statute that address this issue. The federal law is called the Federal Wiretap Act, and it prohibit

When a married couple divorces in Texas , all property owned by either spouse must be categorized as either community property or separate property . Community property is subject to division by a court in the divorce process, but separate property is not. By law, all property is assumed to be community property; the spouse claiming that something is separate must prove that to a court’s satisfaction. There is no specific definition of community property in Texas. Instead, co

In a Texas divorce , all of a couple’s property must be classified as either community property or separate property. Because one spouse’s separate property is usually not subject to division by a court and remains their separate property after the divorce, this categorization can be very important. However, the spouse claiming something as their separate property has the burden of proving that fact to the court. Ownership of a business entirely or in part is considered prop