Posted on November 11, 2022 in Divorce

It is fairly well-known that about half of all first marriages end in divorce. The number of divorces for second and subsequent marriages is even higher. There are also many marriages where the couple is unhappy, yet they still stay together. It is estimated that about 20 percent of married couples experience marital distress. Marital distress can cause anxiety, depression, sadness, tension, and worry. All of these emotions can have a serious impact on a person’s health.

In fact, a new study has found that a bad marriage does not just break your heart emotionally – it can actually break your heart physically. According to the study’s findings, heart attack survivors who are in marriages where there is a lot of stress and unhappiness are at a higher risk of having a difficult recovery than those who are in happy marriages.

The Study

The study was conducted by researchers from the Yale School of Public Health, who tracked approximately 1,600 adults who had been treated for a heart attack between the years 2008 and 2012. Participants were between the ages of 18 to 55 and were either in a committed partnership or marriage.

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 Posted on November 04, 2022 in Child Custody

There are several issues that can cause significant tension between a couple going through a divorce, but the one issue that often causes the most stress is deciding what type of child custody arrangement will be made for the couple’s children. Attempting to predict how the court will rule is fairly impossible since there is such a wide array of factors the judge can consider. The only constant in any child custody case is that the court will base its decision on the best interests of the child.

Understanding What Custody Actually Is

Under Texas law, there are two types of custody that the court considers. The first is possessory conservatorship, also referred to as physical custody. Physical custody is what most often comes to mind for many people when they hear the word “custody” and means the right of the parent to have physical control over the child and where the child will live.

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 Posted on October 28, 2022 in Child Custody

It is not uncommon for parents to disagree about parenting style. Even parents who are together can have different opinions about how their children should be raised. When the parents are divorced, these differences may even become more pronounced. However, there is a difference between different parenting styles – such as one parent being strict about bedtimes while the other parent lets the child stay up as late as they want – and parenting choices and behaviors that can actually put a child in harm’s way. Knowing what those differences are and when you should report the other parent can be crucial to your child’s safety.

When to Report

No matter how upsetting it may be, the court will not intervene just because one parent does not agree with the way their ex-spouse is parenting their child. They will intervene, however, if there is evidence of any of the following:

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 Posted on October 20, 2022 in Complex Divorce

Divorce can get ugly, especially when the couple has a high net worth. If the relationship between the two spouses has become contentious, then one or both may feel that they deserve the majority share of the marital estate, despite the fact that Texas follows the community property method of asset and property division in divorce. And although it may be tempting to take certain steps to ensure that you get the majority share, it could result in some serious sanctions by the court if those steps are discovered. The following are some of the things you should avoid in your high asset divorce.

“Shopping” for an Attorney

When you are going through a divorce, you want to make sure you have a skilled attorney advocating for your best interests. It is not uncommon – in fact, it is recommended – that you meet with a couple of attorneys to make sure that you find one that you are comfortable with and that is qualified to meet your legal needs. However, what is not acceptable is meeting with multiple attorneys in order to prevent your spouse from also retaining a qualified attorney.

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 Posted on October 13, 2022 in Child Support

Under Texas law, when parents split up, all child support orders are issued in compliance with the state’s child support guidelines. There are situations, however, when the child or the parents may have what is referred to as extraordinary income or expenses. This is often the case in divorces involving a high net worth couple. In these situations, the court may deviate from the traditional guidelines and come up with a different amount.

Texas Child Support Guidelines

Generally, the court will take the parent’s net monthly income (based on the formula put in place by the state) and the parent will pay a percentage of that amount based on how many children the couple has. As of this writing, the current guidelines are:

• One child – 20 percent

• Two children – 25 percent

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 Posted on October 06, 2022 in High Asset Divorce

It is rare that a divorce does not have some level of complexity involved. These complications become even more compounded if a couple has substantial assets that need to be divided. This is usually because the more assets and property there are, the more there is to fight over, especially if the divorce is an acrimonious one.

Many high net worth divorces involve real estate, stocks, trusts, business interests, jewelry, art, antiques, and more. In order to ensure that there is a fair and equal division of your marital estate, it is important to have a qualified and experienced high-asset divorce attorney representing you. The following tips can also help to ensure that the process goes as smoothly as circumstances allow.

Keep It Civil

The end of a marriage is often filled with stress and anger. It can be difficult to communicate with your soon-to-be-ex-spouse about financial issues, but it is important to make an effort to keep it as civil as possible. This is a time to try to put that anger aside and not only share your wishes with your spouse but also listen to what they are saying and try to understand where they are coming from. This attitude makes asset negotiation much easier.

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 Posted on September 30, 2022 in Complex Divorce

When it comes to the division of the marital estate in a divorce, Texas is a community property state. This means that the court generally divides the marital estate in half unless there is some type of valid legal document in place that states otherwise. One such legal document is a prenuptial agreement.

A prenuptial agreement is a legal contract that the spouses enter into before they get married. A prenup can cover a number of issues should the marriage end, including what assets and property are separately owned, which are marital, how the marital assets should be divided between the couple, and whether any alimony will be paid.

Prenups also enable a couple to have significant and important discussions about finances that they may not otherwise have prior to the marriage – something that can cause marital problems in the future – since both spouses are required to disclose all assets and debts they are bringing into the marriage. This can help open up the discussions about what kind of spending habits each spouse has and what each spouse’s financial goals are for the future.

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 Posted on September 21, 2022 in Complex Divorce

Divorce is messy. Divorces that involve complex child custody issues, a high-net-worth marital estate, hidden assets, or other significant issues are even messier. In many of these types of cases, a divorce attorney may recommend hiring a private investigator to uncover evidence to help a spouse prevail in the final divorce settlement.

However, it is important that the private investigator you hire is a skilled professional who can produce results and is also aware of the legal limits that they are supposed to be following. Conversely, if your spouse has hired a private investigator to try to dig up evidence against you, it is also important to let your attorney know if that investigator is breaching those limits.  

What Are Private Investigators Allowed to Do?

An investigator has many methods and tools to work with. The following are some of the most common methods that a private investigator is allowed to engage in:

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 Posted on September 15, 2022 in Complex Divorce

Divorce can have a significant financial impact on a person, especially if they are involved in running their own business. A business is usually among the marital assets that need to be divided under Texas community property laws. But before a business can be divided, its value needs to be assessed.  Some businesses are easier to value, while others, such as private practices, can be more difficult. If you are a physician with your own practice, you likely have questions about how your business will be valued for the purposes of divorce. 

Determining the Value of a Medical Practice

In order to determine the actual value of your medical practice, you will need to hire a financial professional who specializes in medical practice valuation. It is critical that you hire your own professional to make an assessment of your practice since it is also highly likely that your spouse’s attorney will also recommend they hire a professional to do the same.

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 Posted on September 03, 2022 in Complex Divorce

What was once just a hobby for a few has turned into a significant form of investment for many. It is estimated that more than 20 million people in this country own cryptocurrency. The value of the cryptocurrency market hit an all-time high of $2 trillion in April, an obvious boom for anyone who owns crypto assets. But this popularity of cryptocurrency has also created a way for some spouses to hide assets in a divorce.

How Is Cryptocurrency Treated in a Texas Divorce?

Cryptocurrency is considered a marital asset, just like funds in financial accounts, stocks, bonds, 401(k) accounts, and IRAs. Since Texas is a community property state – meaning the marital estate is divided in half in a divorce – the value of any crypto assets the couple owns is also required to be split between the couple.

In situations where one spouse purchased crypto assets prior to the marriage, the growth in those assets may be deemed a marital asset depending on how the couple approached this growth. For example, if both spouses worked together in making decisions in purchases, investing, etc., during the marriage, then the court could rule that profits made during the marriage are not separate belonging to the spouse who purchased the original assets, but are instead marital assets.

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