Fort Worth Family Law Blog

When Texas couples are considering divorce, they may think about how to divide their current assets and which parents should have custody of the children. However, couples should also consider how to deal with college savings during this time so that any agreement among the couple is recorded as part of the divorce decree. Couples have a few options in factoring in college savings during the divorce process.

One option is to freeze the 529 plan during the divorce process. While taking this step will freeze the ability to make any deposits to the plan, it will also prevent either parent from making withdrawals on the account. Although there are penalties for doing so, parents can take money out of the account for their own purposes, including buying a car, paying for a vacation or other desire even though the account is meant to provide for their children's education. A parent who did not get what he or she believed to be a fair share may be tempted to raid the educational fund to equalize the settlement and freezing the account helps prevent this problem from occurring during an emotional time.

For women who earn more than their husbands, considering a divorce can represent some important financial considerations. There are several factors to take into account, even before the nuptials, when thinking about the monetary implications of the dissolution of a marriage. The division of marital property, business considerations and personal financial accounts may all come into play during divorce proceedings, and proper planning ahead of time can help to prevent problems and protect financial assets.

A pre-nuptial agreement, for example, can assist a couple in sorting out the most important pieces of monetary information should the marriage be dissolved. Thinking of a pre-nuptial agreement as a respectful way to settle matters with the least amount of complexity for both parties can help to frame such an agreement in a positive light.

Texas and many other states participate in Powerball lotteries, giant pools that pay off millions of dollars to a single winner. While winning a pot this large may be everyone's dream, those who owe unpaid child support may find that winning this kind of money brings attention from family law advocates and child support enforcement agencies. This is what happened to one New Jersey man who recently won the Powerball jackpot for more than $300 million.

The $338 million jackpot, which will pay the winner $221 million in a lump sum payment, would seem to be every lottery player's dream come true. However, the man quickly discovered that New Jersey law enforcement agencies were paying attention when they announced that they intended to seek $29,000 in unpaid child support immediately. It remains to be seen if the man will be forced to pay out more of his winnings if the custodial parent decides to take action.

A Texas jury awarded former NFL Dallas Cowboy Deion Sanders custody of his two sons with estranged wife. The jury decided that Deion Sanders should have full child custody of his 13- and 11-year-old sons and joint custody of his 9-year-old daughter.

Deion Sanders had received temporary custody of the children in May 2012 after he filed for divorce in September 2011. The jury vote was an 11-1 decision, and the jury also voted that the couple should share physical as well as legal custody of the couple's daughter. Each parent was trying to get full custody of all three children.