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Powers Kerr & Rashidi, PLLC
A Harris County judge ordered the father of Beyoncé Knowles to pay over $120,000 in past-due child support and attorneys’ fees, after a paternity test showed that he sired an out-of-wedlock child in 2010. According to a ruling by state District Judge David D. Farr, Mr. Knowles knew of the pregnancy several years ago and gave $250,000 in “hush money”…
Unmarried women over 50 are nearly five times more likely to live in poverty as married women in that age group, according to a recent divorce study. Researchers from Bowling Green University also found a number of other “wide ranging financial consequences” to divorce in this age group. There are several reasons for this reality. First, according to the study,…
The amount of duration of spousal support payments in a high asset divorce is a matter of both science and art because the relevant provisions in the Texas Family Code contain both a mechanical formula based on the length of the marriage and a guide for the evaluation of case-specific financial and familial data. This combination is a response to…
In many high net worth divorces, assets have an emotional value that is equal to, or even greater than, the monetary value. For example, a house is not just a residence; it is the place where the children grew up. The same principle applies to many personal property items, like grandfather clocks and sets of dishes. Retirement accounts often fall…
Although there is nearly always some overlap, most assets in a high net worth divorce fall into one of two general categories. Some property items, primarily things like securities brokerage accounts and retirement nest eggs, are prized mostly for their economic value. Others, such as a primary residence or vacation property, have a greater emotional value. A family business is…
Could informal marriage be the next big transition in family law? Such relationships are already becoming the norm in many parts of Latin America, and the cultural shift could well follow these immigrants to the Lone Star State. For example, in Columbia, 84 percent of babies are born to unmarried mothers. There are similar statistics in a number of other…
In a development that placed the spotlight back on parental alienation syndrome in complex child custody cases, two missing teenage siblings were recently reunited with their divorced father whom they claimed was physically abusive. The saga began when a Minnesota court granted the girls’ father sole custody in a divorce proceeding. Shortly thereafter, the 16- and 17-year-old girls ran away…
In many respects, a stick of dynamite and a high-asset divorce have a great deal in common. Prior to the inevitable explosion, there is a burning fuse. Sometimes the fuse is very short; for example, there may have been an extramarital affair or an outburst of physical violence. Other times, the fuse is considerably longer, as differences simmer and eventually…
The child support guideline amounts in Section 154 are presumed to be reasonable. But consider the following situations: The obligor parent is a server at a local restaurant; the obligee parent is an engineer at a large technology company; Father is now financially responsible for three stepchildren after a subsequent remarriage; Mother must travel to another state to see the…
The more assets you and your spouse have, the more complicated your divorce will be. Trying to manage the emotions as well as the future financial impact of the breakup of your marriage is a big job. Before you get too far into discussion about how to split up the property or how support should be paid, make sure you…