Post Divorce Receivers

Two drafting tips for my colleagues:

Tip #1: Re drafting orders appointing receivers to sell real estate after divorce: In a post-divorce case, when it becomes necessary to appoint a receiver, the best practice is for the order to require that the receiver sell the property for a “reasonable price” within a “reasonable time,” instead of giving him the discretion to sell the property “in his sole discretion upon terms and conditions determined by him,” which is commonly done. The exception would be where the decree anticipates appointment of a receiver and expressly gives him such broad authority, which never happens in my world. This is because a court cannot amend a decree of divorce once it becomes final, and giving such broad discretion to a receiver has been held to be an improper amendment. Perry v. Perry,  512 S.W.3d 523 (Tex.App. – Houston [1st Dist.] 2016).

Tip # 2: Re drafting decrees of divorce when the parties own real estate and it may be liquidated after divorce and the possibility of the need of a receiver exists: Ask yourself, if a receiver does, in fact, get appointed, do you want him/her to have unlimited discretion, very limited discretion, or something more in the middle? If your client will remain in the marital residence, and the other party will want her to sell the property at some point, for example, you may want a receiver to have very limited discretion. The other party may want the receiver to have unlimited discretion for leverage.