Divorce Litigation

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Divorce Litigation & Arbitration

Our attorneys are experienced and effective divorce trial and arbitration attorneys. Our approach to high asset high stakes divorce, child custody and support, and complex family matters is to provide you with the full attention of an accomplished law firm and a team of proven professionals. We have successfully tried and arbitrated family and divorce cases involving high assets, complex property issues, separate property claims, and other legal issues, novel and common, including:

  • Divorce
  • Temporary orders
  • Child custody
  • Child Support
  • Visitation and possession enforcement
  • Property division enforcement
  • Modification of child custody, possession, and support
  • Representation of business and business principals as third parties to divorces

Contested divorces are complex matters.  Many factors contribute to this, and a few of those are discussed below.  It is critical to have experienced trial counsel who understand and have experience handling and presenting these issues to the Court or arbitrator.  A few of those can include:

 In Texas, all property (assets and debts) are presumed to be community property.  Separate property claims can be made for assets or debts allowed by the Texas Family Code.  By way of example, if you married later in life after accumulating wealth, inherited property, or received property as a gift during your marriage, that property may be separate property.  If so, it may not be subject to division by the Court.  A spouse wanting to make a separate property claim is tasked with tracing that property and carving it out of the community estate.  The community estate may also have reimbursement claims against a spouse’s separate property if community funds or assets were used to maintain or improve a spouse’s separate property.  This also requires tracing of those funds.  Tracing requires the services of outside professionals that know the proper legal standards and procedures to successfully trace separate property, as well as trial counsel experienced with prosecuting and defending these claims.

A spouse that has been out of the workforce for several years and needs financial assistance in securing education or training to re-enter the workforce may be entitled to financial assistance as part of the divorce.  In Texas, this type of assistance is called spousal maintenance (it’s also known as alimony).  The Texas Family Code has very specific requirements that must be met in order for a claim of statutory spousal maintenance to be awarded.  If these requirements are not met, no statutory spousal maintenance claim can be awarded by the Court.  The parties can agree themselves to contractual spousal maintenance if they so desire to do so.  However, a Court can only award statutory maintenance, and can do so only when all required elements set out in the Texas Family Code for this claim are met.

You own your own business, and it is the primary or sole source of income for both spouses.  This situation involves several complicated issues.  First, the business must be appraised and its value quantified so the Court can assess its impact on the division of the community estate.  Second, the business is presumed to be a community asset and subject to division.  If the business was owned prior to marriage, there may need to be a tracing exercise to determine whether some or all of the business (or its appraised value) may be separate property.   Both tracing and valuation will require the use of outside professionals, and it is critical to have counsel experienced with these issues at your side.

Your business partner has just told you of a pending divorce.  She advises that her spouse contends he is entitled to half of the business and will be sending subpoenas to the business for financial records, bank records, and other documents belonging to the business.  The spouse may also want a deposition of the business principals.  It appears to you the spouse may be seeking to become your unintended business partner, and you have no desire to work with him.  You and the business need counsel familiar with handling this situation.  Protecting the business and maintaining confidentiality of proprietary documents and information is critical.  We have successfully represented businesses and business principals as third parties to divorce actions under these circumstances.  Let us put our experience and abilities to work for you.

Your spouse has sued you for divorce, and you have been served with the paperwork.  It includes a petition and there is a notice of a hearing for temporary orders.  The hearing is not far off, and you’re not sure what the hearing is about.  Temporary orders are orders the Court puts into place while the divorce is pending.  The Court can order which parent will have the right to designate the child’s residence, set child and medical support, set and order the possession and visitation schedule, award each spouse exclusive use of property, and any other orders requested by the party that asked for the hearing.  It is critical to secure counsel as quickly as possible.  Final divorce orders often mirror the temporary orders.  It may also be that you want to challenge what the other spouse is seeking, or may need temporary orders yourself.  It is vital to present the strongest case possible on these issues.  They will set the tone for the entire divorce and form the starting point for your final decree.

These are only a few of the issues we frequently see and handle in divorce litigation.  When you have to put critical family and financial issues into the hands of a judge, jury, or arbitrator to decide, there is no substitute for experienced, well-prepared trial counsel. Our attorneys are respected and known for excellence in the courtroom. We focus on providing you the highest quality legal guidance and representation from initial meeting through trial. Let us put our experience to work for you.