Studies suggest the average household in Texas has roughly $7,000 in credit card debt. When adjusted to include only households with credit card debt that number increases to over $15,000. Debts owed by a married couple at the time of divorce may include significant credit card debt in addition to car loans, mortgages, 401k loans, personal […]
Dealing with Debts in a Texas Divorce Read More »
Agreed divorces, often called uncontested divorces or no contest divorces, are divorces in which the parties have agreed to the major terms of the divorce. One of the major terms in many divorces is how to deal with the real estate owned between the spouses. In Texas approximately two-thirds of the population owns the home
Divorce attorney on real estate in an agreed divorce Read More »
Retirement plan benefits, like 401k accounts and pension benefits, are often divided in a Texas divorce as part of the property division. Retirement benefits often represent one of the largest assets in the marriage (along with the house and cars). Their division may play an important role in fairly dividing the marital property between the
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Often divorces divide retirement plans like a 401k or defined benefit pension. A judge signs a QDRO (qualified domestic relations order) ordering the retirement plan administrator to divide the benefit. The ability to take funds from the plan under the QDRO depends upon the terms of the QDRO and plan rules. Some plans allow the alternate
Can I take my QDRO money early after my Texas divorce? Read More »
Dividing property in a Texas divorce can be a complication and expensive affair under the Texas Family Code. The Texas Family Code lays out a complicated framework of community property rules. Property may be community property of the marital estate, the separate property of one spouse, or separate property jointly owned by the spouses. The
Dealing with Dividends in a Texas Divorce Read More »
I recently had a conversation with other divorce attorneys in Tarrant County about uncontested divorce or no contest divorce in which the parties reach an agreement about the terms for the divorce rather than fight over the property and custody issues. While we all have different strategies one thing we agreed on the impact of waivers
No Contest Divorces and Waivers of Service in Texas Read More »
Dividing defined benefit pension benefits in a divorce strikes fear into the hearts and minds of divorce attorneys. Defined benefit pension plans, often simply called pensions, are far more complex than the relatively newer defined contribution plans like 401ks and ESOPs. Defined contribution plans are often easy to divide in a divorce. They maintain records of individual accounts
10 Keys to Tackling Defined Benefit QDROs in a Texas Divorce Read More »
You probably heard about the recent release of a massive database of information about Ashley Madison users by a hacktivist group aimed at challenging Ashley Madison’s business model of creating opportunities for spouses to cheat. If you are an Ashley Madison user then this news might be alarming. Many people, including some divorce attorneys, await
Will the Ashley Madison hack lead to more divorces in Texas? Read More »
An uncontested divorce or no contest divorce in Texas is a divorce in which both spouses have agreed to the divorce and all the terms of the divorce, including property division and child issues. The Texas Family Code does not treat a contested divorce differently from an uncontested divorce or no contest divorce. (These mean
Parents wanting 50/50 custody in a divorce is a growing desire in Tarrant County and across Texas. Often 50/50 custody is desired by the parents for good reasons. Sometimes 50/50 custody is desired for less noble reasons, such as avoid child support payments or to try to make things difficult on the other parent. In Tarrant County
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For many people divorce is about the emotional issues and sorting out the children. There is a very important financial aspect to a divorce. The property division of a divorce is about more than fighting over who gets the house and cars. These are important property issues but they may not be the most important issues.
7 Financial Issues in a Texas Divorce Read More »
In many divorces a major source of assets considered in the property division includes employer sponsored retirement plans and accounts like IRAs funded by prior retirement plans. These retirement plans can house significant financial resources. The parties to a Dallas or Fort Worth divorce may want to conserve them for retirement, may need to spend
5 key retirement plan issues in a Texas divorce Read More »
As a Dallas employment lawyer and divorce lawyer in Texas it is important to stay on top of developing legal issues in our area. Here is some north Texas legal news from the past couple weeks: Texas Attorney General bleats “legal chaos” if same-sex marriage is not deemed void. Last month an Austin state judge declared
March 2015 Dallas and Fort Worth Legal News Roundup in Texas (updated 2021) Read More »
Divorce attorneys like myself help clients with divorces and post-divorce actions like enforcement, contempt and modification primarily in Texas. In such a large metropolitan area my clients range in family size, financial assets, post-divorce needs, property ownership and other issues related to their divorce. These divorces can range for very reasonable for clients, particularly with
10 Issues That Will Make Your Texas Divorce More Expensive Read More »
When I draft QDROs in a Texas divorce, one of the parties hires me to draft the QDRO after the judge signs the divorce decree. This is usually not the most efficient or productive method to deal with the QDRO. It is far better to start thinking about the QDRO early in the divorce. Many of
When to start thinking about a QDRO in your Texas divorce Read More »
Under the U.S. and Texas constitutions, all people receive due process. Among due process is the opportunity for awareness of claims brought against you in a court of law. To satisfy due process, the federal and Texas rules of civil procedure require a party sued to receive service of process. Lawyers generally take care of this process
What happens when somebody evades service in a Texas divorce? Read More »
The purpose of a judgment nunc pro tunc is to correct a clerical error in the judgment after the court’s plenary power expired. A motion for judgment nunc pro tunc asks the court to correct the or der so the order matches the judgment. It does not allow a party to ask the court to
What is a judgment nunc pro tunc? Read More »
As a Texas divorce lawyer, I have written about dividing employer-sponsored retirement plans in a divorce through a qualified domestic relations order, or QDRO. These benefit plans are not the only retirement assets to divide in a Texas divorce. Individual Retirement Accounts, or IRAs, are also divisible in a divorce. A key misconception by many suffering through a
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This is a fairly common question I receive at my Texas law office from potential divorcees who feel trapped by their spouse because the spouse is adamant about remaining in the marriage for one reason or the other. At fault divorces in Texas Once upon a time in Texas a divorce could only occur for very
My spouse doesn’t want a Texas divorce but I do. What can I do? Read More »
There are a lot of lawyers and non-lawyers offering services for cheap uncontested divorces in Texas. Many of these entities offering cheap uncontested divorces offer prices far below what most divorce attorneys charge. Truthfully, divorce attorneys in Texas often charge $250-400 per hour. Some partners at large law firms charge as much as $1000 per
Are you getting what you pay for with a cheap divorce in Texas? Read More »