When spouses cannot agree on property, children, or financial support, divorce becomes more difficult to resolve. A contested divorce may involve several disagreements at once, and each one can affect your finances, your parenting rights, and what life looks like after the case is over. Understanding the issues in dispute can help you better prepare for what may happen next.
Property Division and Separate Property Claims
Texas is a community property state, which means property and debts acquired during the marriage are generally presumed to be community property. Even so, the court must divide the marital estate in a manner that is just and right, which does not always mean an equal split.
Disputes often arise when spouses disagree about what property is community property, what should be treated as separate property, and how certain assets should be valued. These issues can become more complicated when a family business, professional practice, investment account, retirement asset, or multiple real estate holdings are involved.
For example, one spouse may have owned a business before the marriage, but the business may have increased in value during the marriage because of shared income, labor, or other marital efforts. In that situation, the characterization and division of the asset may require a closer financial review.
Child Custody, Conservatorship, and Parenting Time
In many contested divorces, the hardest disagreements involve the children. Texas law refers to child custody as conservatorship, and disputes typically fall into two categories: decision-making authority and physical possession. Decision-making disputes may involve who controls major choices about the child’s education, healthcare, and religious upbringing. Possession disputes often center on where the child primarily lives, the day-to-day and holiday schedule, and whether one parent’s proposed relocation would affect the child’s relationship with the other. Courts resolve these disputes by applying a best-interest-of-the-child standard, which means the specific facts of each family’s situation — including the child’s age, each parent’s involvement, and the stability of each home — drive the outcome.
Child Support Disputes
Texas child support is often based on statutory guidelines tied to a parent’s net resources. Even so, disagreements are common when one parent’s income is not easy to calculate or when the other parent believes income is being underreported.
These disputes may involve self-employment income, commissions, bonuses, business distributions, cash payments, or employment benefits that do not appear in a simple paycheck calculation. Because child support affects both the child’s ongoing needs and each household’s financial stability, accurate financial information is important.
Spousal Maintenance
A court does not award spousal maintenance in every divorce. The spouse requesting it must meet specific legal requirements before support can be ordered. Disputes may center on whether a spouse qualifies for maintenance, how much support may be appropriate, and how long it should continue. For example, a spouse seeking support may argue that time is needed to obtain training or reenter the workforce after years spent caring for children. In another case, a spouse may claim they cannot make enough to meet their own minimum reasonable needs because of a physical or mental disability.
High-Conflict Divorce Issues
Some contested divorces involve more than financial disagreements. Allegations of family violence, requests for protective orders, severe communication breakdowns, or concerns about one parent undermining the other parent’s relationship with the child can quickly make a case more complicated. Addressing these issues may involve temporary orders, parenting arrangements, and communication rules.Â
High-Net-Worth Divorce Issues
Divorces involving substantial assets typically require a more detailed financial review. Stock options, business ownership interests, foreign investments, executive compensation, and multiple real estate holdings can all create valuation and division disputes.
In these cases, disagreements may also arise over whether assets are being fully disclosed, whether property should be characterized as separate or community, and how complex holdings should be valued.
