Conservatorship in Texas
It is the public policy in the state of Texas to ensure that children will have frequent contact with both parents and to encourage parents to share in the rights and duties associated with raising their children. Tex. Fam. Code §153.001. Pursuant to public policy, Texas has adopted the term “conservatorship” rather than “custody” when making orders concerning the parent-child relationship. Read More “What Is Joint Managing Conservatorship And Who Gets It?”
Texas law favors prenups. When written correctly, and when the right signing procedure is followed, a prenup is hard to invalidate.
Even though a skilled lawyer can write a solid prenuptial agreement, if the law is not followed it might be successfully attacked in a divorce or probate proceeding. Read More “Ten Ways To Attack A Prenup”
The interplay between shared credit cards and financial liability is complex, and much more so when working through a divorce. Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements attempt to straighten out the asset and debt details upfront, but when such an agreement is not in place, it will take an expert to sort everything out. In some cases, the idea of facing financial hardship or ruinous credit can compel someone to stay in a marriage they would otherwise seek to dissolve. Read More “Handling Shared Credit Cards And Liability In A Divorce”
Legal Marriage Annulment
A legal annulment means a marriage was not valid from the beginning. It is different from a religious annulment. A legally divorced person might get a religious annulment. The religious annulment has no effect on the divorce or on the ability to get a legal annulment. Read More “Can I Annul My Marriage?”
There are many misconceptions about prenups in Texas, even among lawyers. These are the ones I have heard most. There are many more. For years prenups were not allowed by the law, causing misconceptions. The law varies by state, creating confusion; and movies take license about misstating the law. This makes better movies, but also causes more confusion. Read More “10 Common Misconceptions About Prenups”
Marriage is one of the greatest commitments between two people. Unfortunately, statistics show that around 44 percent of all marriages end in divorce and the divorce rate increases to 70 percent for second marriages.
Read More “Do I Need A Postnup?”
The treatment of credit cards in divorce can have a long-term impact on both parties’ finances. The disposition of credit card debt deserves special attention in marriage dissolution, especially during the planning phase. Read More “Treatment Of Credit Cards In Divorce”
It can be difficult to tell when reinvested earnings become commingled community property, as divorce is always complicated by a business. Most businesses retain some of their earnings to drive growth opportunities over the near term and as cushion for a downturn. These assets can be crucial to the business’s functioning, but they can also be targeted during divorce, especially if there is reason to believe the business-owning spouse is hiding income in the company. Read More “When Reinvested Earnings Become Commingled Community Property”
Restricted Stock Units (RSU’s), stock options, & restricted stock are only valuable if the employee remains employed for the required period, usually the vesting period. When part of the vesting period occurs during marriage and the other part is before or after the marriage, the assets are part community and part separate property.
Only community property is divided in divorce. Read More “Are Restricted Stock, Stock Options and Restricted Stock Units Community or Separate Property?”
If you’re getting ready to sit down to prepare a postnup, you should know the basics of how to write a bullet-proof Texas postnup partition & exchange marital agreement.
There are essentially two different kinds of considerations that you’ll want to make to ensure that the contract will hold up against any questions of its validity that may come up later. Read More “How To Write A Bullet-Proof Texas Post-Marital Agreement”
