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Client Testimonials

I was referred to Ken Raggio by a friend and neighbor who used Ken Raggio to represent her in her divorce. She was very happy with his representation of her, so I consulted with Ken and he recommended that, due to the facts of the case, I was financially better off staying married to my husband as long as possible. Basically a year or so later I found out that my husband had filed for divorce, so I hired Ken. We then had a meeting of the two lawyers with the two parties to discuss having an efficient and amicable divorce proceeding. Over the next several months we exchanged sworn inventories and each other’s financial records. The case was set for trial, but we settled it in a mediation a month before trial and after both sides knew what the whole story was. Additionally, Ken helped me walk through the emotional issues of dealing with the end of a long-term marriage. I am grateful for his support and guidance. I’m very pleased with the services that I received from Ken and his firm and highly recommend them. -SdS-
I looked up international divorce on the web. I found Ken Raggio. I was also referred to him by an attorney who knows the reputation of the Raggio’s in the Dallas legal community and specifically in divorce and family law. Specifically, my husband and I had last lived together at his home in Germany. Which meant that this was an international divorce case. My goals were very clear: I wanted to get a divorce, instead of spending months or years and a small fortune dealing with jurisdictional issues that arise all the time in international divorces. So Ken devised a straightforward and efficient plan to try and help me achieve my goal. And it worked! I went to court with Ken just three months after the divorce was filed and got my divorce granted. B.G.
I talked to Tom Raggio a couple years ago about filing for divorce and authorized him to do it, but later changed my mind. I can’t get back those two years, but I finally called the Raggio’s again. This time with my and Tom’s agreement, Ken Raggio met with me. Ken was very direct with me in indicating that everything was my choice. He asked this question: are you willing to take the risk that you be in the same place two years from now that you were two years ago? Over a couple of weeks, I realized that our attempts to deal with my spouses alcoholism that cost us many thousand dollars and really hadn’t worked out to make the marriage worthwhile. So reluctantly, So I filed for divorce. Ken suggested that we draw up a complete package to be able to settle the case. This took a lot of work, but Ken was able to attach all the paperwork necessary to resolve the case with my spouse in my case and these other settlement papers attached with the papers that would be served or delivered by the process server to my spouse. With very few changes, this became the deal that my spouse and I agreed on and that the court approved by signing the decree of divorce. I am very pleased with the guidance and comfort that Ken Raggio and the Raggio firm has given to me in finally dealing with my dead marriage, and giving me the encouragement to move on with my life. And I’m sure it will be a happier life! I highly recommend Ken and his firm. C.F.
My child’s father and I had an amicable divorce a couple years ago. Our possession schedule went okay for a while with little changes here and accommodations there working out. I didn’t even really pay attention to the fact that he wasn’t paying what he agreed he would pay. I even took or picked up our child at the father’s work in another county to help him out. It wasn’t long before my agreements and accommodations to the father led to his bullying of me. This eventually led to me saying we should follow the possession schedule that we had agreed to at the time of divorce. Well, he didn’t like that, and he responded with more bullying, filing a pleading seeking to have temporary custody of our child and filing an untruthful 33 point affidavit. So here I am with a lawsuit. I was referred to Ken Raggio by another lawyer who is also listed as a D Magazine Best Lawyer. He looked over the pleadings and affidavit, and said that this was bogus, but that I still had to defend myself. Well 5 court appearances over five months ( the father appealed the denial of his initial requests by the associate judge to the district judge, and lost again) and a final trial, Ken’s advice was borne out: the father was completely denied all relief he sought, my child support was raised almost a thousand dollars a month, and I was awarded $20,000 in my attorneys fees for the father to pay. And he has to pick up and deliver our child at my house, or to our child’s school, which both are in a different county that the father lives in. I didn’t expect to have to hire Ken this year, but I am glad that I did. Not only did he set the table to deny the father’ relief, but he also got sworn testimony submitted in trial showing that the father had lied in filing his federal tax returns by wrongly saying he had paid for day care and was the primary parent. I think the father now knows that I have a strong attorney just in case he is thinking about starting up his bullying again. I highly recommend Ken and his firm. A. W.
My husband suddenly filed for divorce last year, and even though we had not been getting along, the filing was a shock to me. My husband sat at our kitchen table and told me that he had drawn up an agreement that was “fair and equitable”. He told me that I would not need an attorney, because he had hired an attorney that would be “ours.” He insisted spending more money on attorneys would be a waste. Despite my husband’s reassurance that he was doing the best thing for me and our two young children, I decided to speak to an attorney. Somehow, I was lucky enough to have a friend suggest Raggio and Raggio and I made an appointment. Within 20 minutes of meeting with Ken Raggio, he had already pulled up the information on my house (that my husband and I shared since before the birth of our first daughter), only to learn that I in fact, (and contrary to what I had been told), I was not an owner of the house. Unfortunately, Ken had the duty of showing me the bad news; I was on the deed of trust, but not the deed. So in essence, I was financially responsible for the house, but had no ownership in our home. Additionally, my husband had emptied our bank accounts of over six figures and put it beyond my reach. Essentially, I had nothing. I was left to borrow money and bounce checks in order to take care of the children and pay for child care. He had the house. He took the money. He had more than half a million dollars in retirement; and I did not even have enough money to hire an attorney. Or so I thought... Ken Raggio also informed me that my husband had hired a very aggressive lawyer whose only position was that my husband was “right about everything and I should just agree to his terms because he was being generous” In that so-called generous offer, my husband got his house (after all, it was his separate property) and I got a little bit of savings, got child support, my car, and my retirement. To quote Ken, “this would be the deal you would get in your worst day in court.” And so our divorce started in earnest. Well, we had to set various matters down for a hearing before the court that would get him to move off of his “my way or the highway” view of the divorce and of life in general. So we got temporary orders about my use of the house, about support, use of credit cards, and payment of attorneys and legal expenses. Oh, yeah, we also managed to get my husband’s huge and upcoming bonus frozen so he could not try and hide that from me or our children. Even though it was a contentious and expensive divorce, I am smiling: I got the house with (with the mortgage paid in full) and my children have the stability of staying in the only home they have ever known. Additionally, I got my retirement, a car, and above guideline child support. I have more enthusiasm at work and more time with my children. Moving forward, life is good. I am stronger than I could have ever imagined and I fought for what I knew was right; but, I truly believe that I would not have been able to do so without Ken Raggio and his firm. Only now do I understand that practicing law seems to be a delicate balance of timing, emotional support, stern advice, and knowing the law. Ken Raggio has that delicate balance down to a science. I am extremely grateful to Ken Raggio and his firm for helping me get the courage and resolve to fight for myself and my children, and as Ken said, to get my husband’s “foot off of my neck.” I highly recommend Ken and his firm. ARB

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Property division: What happens when a business is in the mix?

Texas distinguishes separate property from community property within its property division laws. The distinction is important for the determination of how property will be distributed among parties within a divorce proceeding.

Community property is not the same as separate property. In Texas, community property that is held jointly is divided by the court and given to divorcing spouses (if there is no property division agreement). Yet, some property is hard to characterize. For example, if one spouse has ownership in a company, it could be difficult for a court to assign a property status to the business property. If ownership in the company is considered separate property, both spouses may not be entitled to the business.

In such cases, it is common to incorporate corporate law into the property division analysis. For example, assets could be hidden in what appears to be separate business property, and this could hinder one’s right to a just portion of property. Then, a party could leave the relationship with business assets from the companies, which were supposed to be distributed equitably along with other asHowever, when a corporation is truly an “alter ego,” of an involved party, this may make the business community property.

If a company is actually an “alter ego” of a party to a divorce, assets of the company could be divided in the property division process. When the corporate veil of the company is “pierced,” the business is actually an alter ego of a party to a divorce. Essentially, the veil is pierced when a court determines that there is no difference between the company and a party to the divorce.

Furthermore, if a party’s use of the business greatly affected the couple’s community assets, then the corporate veil could be considered pierced. This might be in the case where the family’s income was completely funded by a personal business.

When the court analyzes property pursuant to the property division process, it is crucial to make certain that all assets are characterized correctly. Whether a business should be considered separate property or whether a company should be integrated into the community estate is an important legal issue, which could seriously affect the allocation of property.

If you are interested in knowing more about the characterization of your business, take the time to speak with a solid family law attorney in your area.