Ranches, Horses & Saws
A stepfather's "unwavering" testimony that a check to his stepdaughter for $50,000 was intended as a gift to her alone constituted sufficient evidence that the $50,000 was the stepdaughter's separate property when combined with the fact that the check was introduced as evidence at trial, the payee was the stepdaughter, the memo on the check recited that the check was a gift to the stepdaughter and the father failed a a gift tax return with the IRS listing the stepdaughter as the donee.
The trial court erred by characterizing a horse born during marriage as the stepdaughter's separate property because livestock born during marriage are community property regardless whether their parents are community or separate property. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by awarding the horse to the stepdaughter because the mischaracterization had "only a de minimus effect on the trial court's division of the community estate.
Husband failed to show divestment of his separate property table saw, table saw stand, western saddle, and cutting torch when the divorce decree awarded him all items of property in his possession but Husband failed to introduce evidence that these items were in Wife's possession rather than in his possession.
See Williams v. Williams www.2ndcoa.courts.state.tx.us/opinions/pdfOpinion.asp
