Are Jury Trials for Custody a Moot Point?

In Texas parents have a right to ask a jury to decide which parent determines the primary residence of the child. There are a host of reasons to select a jury, one of the most obvious being you don’t want the Judge making that decision. Juries however are...

Possession Decided by a Counselor/Therapist

I have had both lawyers and judges suggest from time to time that possession in particularly thorny custody cases be decided by a children’s therapist. Therapeutically and practically this always been problematic. The role of therapist is not to referee custody...

Contesting Spousal Gifts

A common dispute in a divorce is the appropriateness of gifts a spouse has made to third parties during the marriage. This ranges from gifts to children, parents, and paramours. Gifts fall under constructive fraud which is discussed in the prior post, but there are...

Constructive Fraud in the Context of Divorce

Constructive fraud, waste and breach of fiduciary duty are essentially the same in the context of a divorce. Puntarelli v. Peterson 405 S.W.3d 131 (Tex.App. – Houston [1st Dist.] 2009. Constructive fraud is the breach of a legal or equitable duty which the law...

Tax Changes for Maintenance and Alimony

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 has made a big and significant change to alimony and maintenance. Beforehand, alimony and maintenance were deductible for payers on their federal return and were reported as income by the receiver. In most cases, the payer is in a...