Dallas Divorce Law Blog by Michelle O'Neil

For high net worth clients, now may be an optimum time to get a divorce, especially in the Dallas Texas area.  A down economy and devalued assets benefits the monied-spouse in a divorce.  The decline in house values means that the ratio of equity to debt is lower and the asset division is lower as well.  The same goes with division of retirement or brokerage accounts that hold stock or bonds.   The overall value of those accounts is lower, resulting in a smaller overall division of the estate.  Where once a monied spouse might offer the other spouse a cash buyout, more frequently Dallas divorce attorneys are seeing divisions in-kind, where the spouses share equally in the losses.

On the other hand, now may not be so good to get divorced if you are the non-monied spouse.  Frequently the non-monied spouse will suffer a decrease in overall economic stability as a result of a divorce, even in a good economy.  Now, in this bad economy, keeping the marriage together until the economy recovers might be a good financial plan.

Dallas Divorce Lawyers note a similar trend to that in a recent Newsweek article.  Newsweek point to a trend nationally where divorcing couples are sharing equal time with their children as well as joint decision making.  The “standard” orders in a Dallas divorce involves parents making shared decisions regarding their children (such as what school they will attend or when to get braces) but the children live primarily with one parent and spend time with the other parent according to the Texas Standard Possession Schedule (current version 2008).  Increasingly, divorcing parents who are able to get along and co-parent their children are turning to a more equal possession schedule, such as a week-on/week-off type arrangement.  These arrangements work well as long as parents live close together, preferably in the same school district, and get along well enough to collaborate on homework, activities, and such things.  Parents who argue or cannot communicate do not do well with this type of arrangement.

There seems to be an increase recently in Dallas divorces involving elderly people.  As an attorney, I’ve seen a couple of cases recently where elderly folks are getting divorced and their children get involved in the divorce.  These situations are sad, particularly when one of the spouses is suffering from dementia or other disorders that inhibits his or her ability to make decisions for him or herself.  Frequently the adult children will get involved in the divorce and take sides.  Money is often the main source of disagreement involving the adult children.

See this article from the Dallas Morning News about a couple in Ellis County, Texas.  There, the adult children asked the Ellis County divorce judge to allow them to have custody of their elderly father and sue his new wife for divorce.  The Judge found that the elderly man, although he had the beginnings of dementia, seemed to have a good grasp on what was going on.  The man said he loved his new wife and didn’t want a divorce, and he didn’t mind her spending habits.  The adult children were concerned because the size of his estate had been depleted significantly.  The case remains pending and the Judge has ordered an evaluation of the elderly man’s ability to comprehend the proceedings.

Another question I get frequently from potential clients:  What is the difference between a contested divorce and an uncontested divorce?

Answer:  The difference between a “contested” and “uncontested” divorce is generally a matter of how much time your attorney will have to spend analyzing the issues and contemplating the fairness of the settlement.

I received this today another happy client:

“Dear Michelle, Ashley, and Christina:  We are deeply grateful for your kindness and hard work for such a long time, in accomplishing the adoption.  She now feels secure.  We shall always think of you as dear friends.  May God continue to use you in helping other’s lives, as you have our’s.”  K.H.