Appeals of a Texas divorce can be lengthy and may sometimes result in a significant delay in a party receiving the assets they were awarded in the decree. In some cases, courts may award postjudgment interest on a money judgment. In a recent case, a Texas appeals court considered whether an award of a brokerage account in a divorce property division authorized postjudgment interest.
Case History
According to the appeals court’s opinion, the parties got married in the early 1990s and divorced in 2018. The decree awarded the wife two investment accounts, together valued at $548,177.25. The decree also awarded her the equivalent value of $1,062,242.20. The accounts were invested and therefore fluctuated in value. The decree provided that the accounts were to be divided as “more particularly defined in a Qualified Domestic Relations Order signed by the Court.” The decree did not state the amounts of cash or securities held in the accounts, but did include “interest, dividends, gains, or losses” on the awards.
The husband appealed, but the appeals court affirmed the property division and the Texas Supreme Court denied review. The appeal was not resolved until April 19, 2021, and the wife was denied access to the accounts while the appeal was pending. She requested interest on their value, but the trial court concluded the awards were not “money judgments” and denied the request for interest.