Texas Family Law Insiders

The Texas Family Law Insiders podcast brings together top divorce and family law attorneys and other professionals to discuss issues related to divorce, family law, child custody, child support, paternity, parental rights, grandparents’ rights, adoptions, and family law appeals in Texas.

Texas Family Law Insiders is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 143 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Texas Family Law Insiders, a business show with 143 episodes published.

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  Episode #146

  Texas Family Lawyers Podcast | Episode 146 | Passenger or Co-Pilot? What We Can Learn from Belle Burden's "Strangers"

  Aug 19, 202645 min

  Disclaimer: Duly registered and duly licensed financial professionals offer securities through Equitable Advisors, LLC (NY, NY 212-314-4600), member FINRA, SIPC (Equitable Financial Advisors in MI & TN); offer investment advisory products and services through Equitable Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor; and offer annuity and insurance products through Equitable Network, LLC (Equitable Network Insurance Agency of California, LLC; Equitable Network Insurance Agency of Utah, LLC; Equitable Network of Puerto Rico, Inc.).Equitable Advisors and Equitable Network are affiliates and do not offer tax or legal advice or services. Professionals holding the CDFA® credential must follow strict ethical rules and practice standards. This designation is not a license to practice law, as they are not permitted to give legal advice. Well Lived Wealth is not owned or operated by Equitable Advisors or Equitable Network. PPG- 9009031.1(7/26)(Exp.7/30) In this episode, Holly Draper sits down with Molly Ward, a certified financial planner and certified divorce financial analyst (CDFA) and founder of Well Lived Wealth in Houston, to talk about why financial engagement — not just financial literacy — determines how well someone comes through a divorce. Molly shares her own divorce story and explains how the CDFA credential complements a family lawyer's work by translating the legal process into a concrete financial roadmap: Can I keep the house? Will I be okay? What does my life actually look like now? The conversation centers on Strangers by Belle Burden, whose account of "financial disengagement" in marriage — becoming what Molly calls a "financial ostrich" or "financial hostage" — mirrors what Molly and Holly both see in practice. They discuss the slow slide from financial co-pilot to passenger, why it disproportionately affects women, and practical takeaways for family lawyers: red flags to watch for at intake, when to loop in a CDFA, and how the book has fueled renewed interest in prenups (the "Burden Bump"). In This Episode, You'll Discover: • What a CDFA is and how it differs from a CFP • The “financial ostrich” and “financial hostage” patterns Molly sees in her practice • Why each spouse should have their own CDFA • How Belle Burden's book Strangers illustrates the slow slide into disengagement • Molly's take on prenups and postnups, and the “trigger clause • When and how family lawyers should loop in a CDFA

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #145

  Texas Family Lawyers Podcast | Episode 145 | Material and Substantial Changes: Can you file? Should you file?

  Aug 5, 202627 min

  Episode 145: Material and Substantial Change Host: Holly Draper | Guest: Emily Doron | Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast It sounds like a basic concept, but it seems like a lot of attorneys and judges don't fully understand it: material and substantial change, the gatekeeper standard for any modification case. In this episode, Holly is joined by Emily Doron, a senior attorney at the Draper Law Firm, to unpack what the standard actually requires, where it comes from, and why the same set of facts can get a modification granted in one court and denied in another. The Texas Family Code never defines material and substantial change, which means attorneys are left piecing it together from case law — and, in practice, from the individual judge sitting on the bench. The conversation walks through the challenges in presenting material and substantial changes in court including what constitutes material and substantial changes, when it is and when it isn't in the best interests of the client to pursue them in court, how the specific court and judge might impact the outcome more than the facts, and how to protect your client's appeal when the finding goes against what those facts say. This is a conversation from which every family attorney can take away information that they can use, and the every new and young family lawyer will definitely want to hear! In This Episode, You'll Discover: • What material and substantial change actually is • The two-part test clients need to understand • The one-year modification trap • Whether a promotion counts as a material and substantial change • How to actually prove it in court • Why “I don’t like this order” isn’t a legal argument

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  Episode #144

  Episode 144 | Getting What is Right: Disproportionate Divisions

  Jul 21, 202642 min

  Just and right does not mean equal — and that misconception trips up more divorce clients than almost any other. In this follow-up to their conversation on fault grounds for divorce, Holly Draper is joined again by her partner at the Draper Law Firm, Carrie Tapia, to dig into disproportionate division of the marital estate: how it works, who gets it, and what it actually takes to plead and prove it. Texas is a community property state, but that does not mean the law promises a 50/50 split. The family code calls for a “just and right” division, which really means whatever the judge on your case decides is fair under the circumstances. Holly and Carrie walk through why they set client expectations at an even split as the baseline, why courts are given broad discretion on appeal, and why the biggest swings they have personally seen have landed closer to a 55/45 or 60/40 split — with true outliers reserved for extreme facts or default judgments. The heart of the episode is a walk through the Murff factors — the non-exclusive list of considerations from the 1981 Texas Supreme Court case Murff v. Murff that judges may weigh in deciding whether to award more than half the estate to one spouse. Holly and Carrie go factor by factor: fault in the breakup, disparity in earning capacity and education, health and age, the size of each spouse’s separate estate, the nature of the community property itself, benefits from continuation of the marriage, custody of the children, waste or fraud on the community, and disproportionate attorney’s fees. They share which factors actually move the needle with judges in their experience, and which ones sound compelling in theory but rarely tip the scales in practice. The conversation also covers the practical side: how to plead a disproportionate division (and why it is worth including even when you are not sure you will pursue it), the different evidence needed to prove each factor — from tax returns and forensic accountants to medical records — and how to run a cost-benefit analysis with clients before spending thousands of dollars chasing a waste claim. Holly and Carrie close with the appeal side of property division: the strict 20-day deadline to request findings of fact and conclusions of law, and common reversible errors like mischaracterization of separate property and double-dipping in how assets are awarded. In This Episode, You'll Discover: • Why “just and right” doesn’t mean 50/50 — how Texas community property law actually works, why courts have broad discretion, and why setting client expectations at an even split protects them from disappointment. • The Murff factors that guide judges — a full walk-through of the non-exhaustive list from Murff v. Murff, including earning capacity, health, age, separate property, and benefits from continuation of the marriage. • How to plead a disproportionate division — why it is best practice to plead for it even before you are certain, and how fault grounds, fraud, and waste each require different levels of pleading and proof. • What it actually takes to prove each factor — from tax returns and expert testimony on earning capacity to forensic accountants for tracing waste and fraud on the community. • How to weigh the cost of a waste claim — Holly and Carrie discuss running a cost-benefit analysis with clients before hiring an expensive forensic accountant to chase a claim. • The 20-day deadline that can sink a property division appeal — why requesting findings of fact and conclusions of law on time is critical, and the reversible errors — like mischaracterization and double-dipping — to watch for.

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #143

  Episode 143 To Plead or Not to Plead: Grounds for Divorce

  Jul 7, 202625 min

  Every divorce filed in Texas has to state grounds for the divorce, but should it be a fault ground or the standard no-fault option? In this episode, Holly Draper is joined by her partner at the Draper Law Firm, Carrie Tapia, to break down the grounds for divorce available under the Texas Family Code and the strategy behind choosing which one to plead. Holly and Carrie start with the default: insupportability, the no-fault ground that allows most Texas divorces to proceed without airing out every grievance in the marriage. The conversation then works through each of the fault grounds available in Texas along with the evidentiary bar for each, the practical reasons attorneys rarely plead some of them, and the property division and custody consequences that can follow. Holly and Carrie share candid war stories about how judges really react to adultery, when a disproportionate share of the estate becomes realistic, and the hidden risks (like exposure to lifetime spousal maintenance or the need for a guardian) that come with rarely-used grounds, as well as practical guidance for practitioners: when and how to amend a petition to add fault grounds before trial, why waiting until the last minute can backfire under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, and how to counsel clients on the risk versus reward of pursuing a fault-based case. In this episode you'll discover: • Why insupportability is the default • How fault grounds can function as leverage • What it actually takes to prove fault grounds • The truth about adultery in the eyes of the court • The unique circumstances for lesser-used fault grounds • Timing rules for amending a petition

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #142

  Episode 142 | Five Years of Advice from the Best in the Business

  Jun 24, 202648 min

  Episode 142: Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast- Five Years of Advice from the Best in the Business Five years. 140+ episodes. One question asked of every single guest: "What is one piece of advice you would give to young family lawyers?" In this milestone episode, host Holly Draper does something different. Instead of sitting down with a new guest, she opens up the archive and pulls the best answers from five years of conversations with attorneys, judges, financial experts, mental health professionals, and mediators from across the Texas family law world — and beyond. What you'll get is some of the best advice, from some of the very best professionals in and around family law — covering everything from what to wear to court, to how to protect your reputation, to when you should say yes to a scary opportunity. You'll get a deeper dive into the most commonly recurring pieces of advice given over the years, with additional wisdom shared by colleagues from all over Texas. Whether you're brand new to family law, a seasoned practitioner, or just someone fascinated by this world, there's something in this episode that will stay with you. In this episode you'll discover : • Why what you wear matters more than you think • The moment that almost didn't happen • The war bell you didn't mean to ring • Why your reputation is the only thing that outlasts you • The five recurring themes of advice from the past five years • What lawyers in the trenches are saying right now

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