Here, a court in Montgomery County entered a paternity order in 2005. In 2005, the mother’s ex-husband filed a modification suit seeking custody. The mother was served and the father signed an affidavit of relinquishment of parental rights. The case was transferred to Brazoria County and a default order was entered against the mother. The […]
The agreement in this case included very large alimony payments to the wife and an agreement for the husband to pay the children’s college expenses. The trial court awarded a judgment of $1,128,000 against the ex-husband and awarded $102,475 in attorney’s fees. The few adjustments made to the judgment by the court of appeals did […]
An appellee bears the burden of proving that an appellant is estopped from challenging the judgment by appeal under the acceptance-of-benefits doctrine. When the doctrine applies, an appeal is rendered moot and the appeal should be dismissed. The doctrine does not apply when (1) acceptance of the benefits is because of financial duress or other […]
This case shows how to overcome the presumption that when a spouse uses separate property to acquire land during the marriage and takes title to the land in the names of both the husband and wife, it is presumed that the interest given the non-purchasing spouse is a gift. Here, a trust was established in […]
A recent decision from the First Court of Appeals out of Judge Hellums’ court (won by Michael Childs) provides a new twist to claims of waste or constructive fraud. In Puntarelli v. Peterson, No. 01-11-01120-CV (Tex. App. – Houston [1st Dist.] Feb. 14, 2013), the wife asked the age old question “where did all of […]
This 1993 divorce involved two children, yet the decree ordered the father to pay child support, “…until the date of the earliest occurrence of one of the following events: a. any child reaches the age of eighteen years,… b. any child marries…” There was no step down provision that said “thereafter he pays $xxxx.xx until…” […]
Hooray for the attorney who cites a case from 1889 and wins! Perhaps we all should review Schmidt v. Huppman, 11 S.W. 175 (Tex. 1889), which held “Where it satisfactorily appears, as in this case, that one spouse brought into the partnership separate funds invested in a particular business, which business was carried on and […]
