Entries Tagged as ''

Stress in Marriage Affects Health

A study released today shows that men and women in happy marriages have lower blood pressure than single adults with supportive friends/family.  But, unhappily married adults had higher blood pressure than either happily married adults or single adults.  High blood pressure leads to a greater risk of cardiovascular problems.

The next step in the study is to research whether improving a troubled marriage can lower the blood pressure for married people.

 To read the article, click here.

Tags: General, Reconciliation, Health & Wellbeing by Michelle
No Comments »

Losing Your House By Gift

New case out of the Dallas Court of Appeals… Magness v. Magness, 241 S.W.3d 910 (

Tex. App. — Dallas 2007)… If you owned a house prior to marriage and, through refinance or whatever circumstances, added your new spouse’s name to the deed after marriage, the law creates a presumption that you intended to make a gift out of the interest to the new spouse.

Facts: Wife held title to the home prior to marriage.  Ater marriage, she refinanced the home, executing a deed transferring a one-half interest in the home to her husband.  The couple divorced and wife claimed that she did not intend the deed to be a gift transferring ownership to husband.  Husband did not testify about whether wife had made a gift.  The trial court found that husband and wife each owned a one-half separate interest in the home.  Wife appealed.

 

Held: Affirmed.  The granting of the deed to husband created a presumption that wife intended a gift.  The trial court did not err in finding that this presumption was not overcome.

 

Opinion: Inception of title shows that he house was originally wife’s separate property.  The question remaining is whether the wife intended the deed transfer to constitute a gift.  “A deed for property from one spouse as grantor to the other spouse as grantee creates a presumption the grantee spouse received the property as separate property by gift.”  This presumption may be rebutted by proof of fraud, accident, or mistake.  The trial court, as the exclusive judge of credibility and weight given to evidence, determined that this presumption was not rebutted.  This was not an abuse of discretion.

Signing what the title company puts in front of you, ignorant of the consequences, is insufficient to rebut the gift presumption.  Affirmative factual evidence – not just conclusions – of fraud, accident, or mistake must be shown.  This case provides fairly clear direction for the all-to-common refinance situations.

Tags: Divorce, Property Division by Michelle
No Comments »

More No-No’s for Kids and Divorce

As I’ve posted recently here,  here and here, issues often arise about how to handle kids and divorce.  One of the problems has received recent media attention from Hulk Hogan’s divorce.  Apparently Hulk is sending messages to estranged wife Linda through their 17-year-old son and otherwise discussing divorce issues — the sale of the marital residence — with him, causing the son to developed emotional issues.  See article here.

One would think it goes without saying that parents should not put their children in the middle of communication about grown-up issues. Most Texas divorce courts enter orders prohibiting discussions about the litigation in the hearing of the child as soon as the divorce is filed.  Some counties, including Dallas, Collin, Tarrant, and Denton, call these “Standing Orders” (see blog post Dallas Divorce Lawyers Know…).  But, sometimes parents still allow their judgment to be clouded by the emotion of the divorce to the extent that they forget to put the kids first.

Dick Price has a good blog post on his website about Divorce No No’s that he says can lead to emotional and behavioral problems.  His list of No No’s includes:

  1. Make a child into a messenger.
  2. Let the kids overhear comments about the other parent.
  3. Let the kids be present, in person or on the phone, to hear arguments about the kids.
  4. Make comments directly to the child about the other parent.
  5. Discuss the “facts” or “truth” about the divorce with the kids.
  6. Inform the kids, or let them know, about what they are missing out on becasue they will be with the other parent.
  7. Ask the kids to make choices between parents. 

To read more of Mr. Price’s article, click here. 

Tags: Children's Issues, Lawyer Blogs, Standing Orders by Michelle
No Comments »

The Divorce Team

Divorce can be a complex process that affects just about every aspect of your life, from financial to emotional, physical to legal.  Unless you have been married a short time and have no property, assets or kids, your divorce may be more complicated than you expect.  The central figure in your divorce (besides the obvious you, your spouse and kids) is your lawyer and her staff.  But assembling the best team to assist you through the process can help achieve your goals for the divorce more efficiently.

Financial planners (here’s one) can be useful in helping prepare budgets and examine the cash flow needed after divorce.  Accountants (here’s one) can help with tracing assets for characterizing as community or separate property and valuing business assets.  A therapist can help you with the emotional turmoil of divorce.  A litigation coach can help you navigate the waters of testifying and making strategic decisions.  Sometimes private investigators (check this out) are necessary to discover certain information.  And, forensic computer specialists may be useful to trace information contained on a hard drive.

Experienced family lawyers are familiar with the experts in these fields and can assemble the right team for your case.  If you are in need of a team that specializes in divorce, please contact us.

Tags: Divorce, Financial Planning, Divorce Team by Michelle
No Comments »

Dallas Divorce Lawyers know…

Dallas County was the first county to implement the Standing Order in family law cases. Several other counties have followed their lead. The Standing Order is a set of orders that applies to every divorce (regardless of whether there are children of the marriage) and every suit regarding children (whether or not it is a divorce). I call them “do-right orders” because the main purposes of the orders are:

1. Minimize disruption to the children by ordering each parent to refrain from hiding the child, changing the child’s school or day-care, or saying negative things about the other parent to the child.

2. Preserve the property of the parties by ordering each party not to hide assets, change or deplete accounts, run up debts, open each other’s mail, turn off utilities at the residence of either party, or locking the other party out of the house.

3. Preserve the financial and personal records by ordering both parties to refrain from destroying important records.

4. Maintain insurance by prohibiting cancelation of insurance policies or changing beneficiaries.

5. Generally regulate the conduct of the parties by prohibiting the use of vulgar language, making harassing telephone calls, or threatening the other person.

Most of the orders are behaviors that normal people not in a divorce would know they should not engage in, but during a divorce people sometimes act out.

Nothing about the Standing Order for family law cases prohibits either party from conducting their usual business or occupation, hiring and paying for a lawyer’s services, or spending money or debt on reasonable living expenses.

Prior to adopting this Standing Order, and in counties that do not have a Standing Order, a Court would enter a Mutual Temporary Restraining Order containing the same provisions. (Do not confuse a Mutual Temporary Restraining Order as described with a Protective Order that addresses issues of domestic violence.)

Click here to see a copy of the Dallas County Standing Order 2008

Tags: Divorce, Temporary Orders, Dallas County Local Rules by Michelle
No Comments »

Voting and the Legal System

Tomorrow is Voting Day. Some call it Election Day, but I see it a little differently. Tomorrow is our day to VOTE. The election of someone to a publicly paid-for job is a natural byproduct of our decision to Vote. Women and minorities should be particularly interested in voting, as many people worked very hard and sacrificed much to give us the right to vote. Women were only granted the right to vote by the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920 — that’s only 88 years that we’ve been given the right to cast a ballot. Not that men should take it any less seriously just because they’ve always had the right to vote.

Voting can have an impact on everyone who has a need to have a legal matter resolved through the court system. When two married people decide to get a divorce, unless they can agree on their disputes, a judge will make decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their children. That judge is elected by people who vote!

So, tomorrow, please remember to exercise your right to vote. You have the right to choose which political party you stand with and which of the contested races to vote in, but regardless, educate yourself on the races and go vote.

Tags: General by Michelle
No Comments »

Texas Divorce Newsletter 03/01/2008

March 1, 2008
Welcome to The May Firm Newsletter!
As a service to our clients, we at The May Firm and Divorce Magazine are pleased to provide you with this monthly e-newsletter and hope that the information and articles contained within are helpful, supportive, and entertaining. Michelle May O’Neil is nationally recognized as a leader in family law. Her firm emphasizes high-quality representation in family-law matters, with a particular emphasis on child-custody disputes, complex marital-property litigation, and appeals of family-law matters. For more information, please click here: www.DivorceMagazine.com/TX/pro/may.shtml or view our website at: www.themayfirm.com.

If you wish to schedule an appointment to further discuss your situation, please contact us.

Useful Articles:
1. CHILDREN AND DIVORCE: Within a child’s heart
2. MEDIATION: A fair negotiation
3. DIVORCE RECOVERY: Full esteem ahead
4. RELATIONSHIPS: Sex and divorce
5. BUSINESS VALUATION: How will you find value?
6. FINANCIAL PLANNING/INVESTMENT: Charting your expenses
________________________________________
1. CHILDREN AND DIVORCE
Within a child’s heart
A glimpse into the journey one boy faced when his parents divorced.
http://www.divorcemag.com/articles/Children_and_Divorce/childsheart.html
2. MEDIATION
A fair negotiation
Negotiation skills will help you achieve your needs without alienating or angering the other parties. Here’s how to use negotiation to build better interpersonal relationships.
http://www.divorcemag.com/articles/Mediation/negotiation.html
3. DIVORCE RECOVERY
Full esteem ahead
Reclaiming your self-esteem after divorce is a critical part of the healing process. Here are some suggestions to help you on your way.
http://www.divorcemag.com/articles/Divorce_Recovery/full_esteem_ahead.html
4. RELATIONSHIPS
Sex and divorce
Coping with divorce and the prospect of new sexual relationships can be emotionally challenging, to say the least. Here’s a look at some of the pitfalls and opportunities up ahead.
http://www.divorcemag.com/articles/Relationships/sexanddivorce.html
5. BUSINESS VALUATION
How will you find value?
Many business owners realize the importance of having buy-sell agreements in place for their closely held businesses, but few realize the problems that can arise if these agreements have not been properly thought out.
http://www.divorcemag.com/articles/Business_Valuation/determining_the_price.html
6. FINANCIAL PLANNING/INVESTMENT
Charting your expenses
Here’s some help with the task of budgeting for your family’s past, present, and future expenses.
http://www.divorcemag.com/articles/Financial_Planning/chartexpenses.html

Tags: Newsletter, Business Valuation, Children's Issues, Divorce Recovery, Financial Planning by Michelle
No Comments »