With Strength And Compassion
Powers Kerr & Rashidi, PLLC
When it first took effect in very limited form in 1997, conventional wisdom held that the spousal support law would be gradually expanded until Texas joined the majority of the other states which, at the time, routinely included alimony payments in their high-asset divorce decrees. In many cases, these payments were designed to permanently equalize the standard of living between…
New homeowners never think that their houses will burn down, and they certainly do not desire such an outcome. But responsible homeowners always obtain insurance policies, even though there is nothing “fun” about filling out insurance forms. In a similar vein, no soon-to-be-newlywed couple anticipates a high asset divorce, and they certainly do not desire this outcome. But a premarital…
The poverty rate among unmarried women over 50 is nearly three times higher than the rate for divorced men over 50, according to a recent study. To explain the discrepancy, researchers pointed to Social Security laws. When the Social Security Act was passed in the 1930s, most eligible persons were married, and so women who had been absent from the…
In many situations, a closely-held business is the largest economic asset in a marriage. Moreover, it is often the couple’s primary source of income; in fact, in many cases, spouses have put off development in their professional careers to pour their time into the businesses, and reintegrating into the labor force may not be easy. These economic factors sometimes make…
A prominent financial advisor suggests that spouses who receive the marital residence following a high-asset divorce sell it, downsize, and use the extra cash to make catch-up contributions to their retirement accounts. Such action is particularly appropriate if the divorcee is over 50, because persons of this age have less time to make up lost wealth. If a person saves…
Emotions are very high during and after a divorce or complex child custody proceeding, and parents should take care that these feelings do not corrupt future co-parenting efforts. Although it may be difficult to do so, do not make negative comments about your ex-partner in front of the children. This language makes the children feel guilty and lowers their self-esteem.…
Twenty years ago, the Dallas Cowboys won their most recent Super Bowl against their archrivals from Pittsburgh. Cornerback Larry Brown intercepted two second-half passes from Neil O’Donnell, which the Cowboys turned into two touchdowns, and Red “First Dahwwnn” Cashion was the referee. Now, the game and its participants are largely relegated to NFL Films retrospectives and documentaries. Twenty years ago,…
Constructive fraud is quite common in high net worth divorce cases. Many times, these matters involve long-term marriages which slowly deteriorated over a period of several years, giving the spouses ample opportunity to surreptitiously redirect community funds. There is also a compounding factor; for example, Wife may think little of giving children from a prior marriage a few hundred dollars…
Texas law requires that the property division in a high-asset divorce be a “just and right” division of the estate. Generally, such a division is made along an even or fairly even basis. But that is certainly not always the case, and both parties should be prepared to present a compelling case that protects their individual legal and financial interests,…
Many litigants and practitioners consider these forms of alternative dispute resolution to be similar. There are some commonalities, not the least of which is that they are both negotiation-based, as opposed to litigation-based, methods for dispute resolution. But comparing this alternative to complex property litigation with mediation is a little like comparing this article to William Shakespeare’s literary epic Hamlet:…