Gerald Byron Barras v. Leslea Loring Barras, 396 S.W.3d 154

Gerald Barras and Leslea Barras were divorcing; prior decree awarded Leslea $150,000 payable from Gerald for Sunset property, with Sunset lien to secure; Sunset lien was released when proceeds funded Glenwood property bought in Gerald’s name.
Second divorce trial awarded Leslea $125,000 as her separate property, to be secured by a deed of trust on the Glenwood property, plus a community reimbursement of $154,073 from Gerald’s estate for principal reductions and a $25,111 tax refund used for Glenwood repairs.
Trial court found the Glenwood property to be Gerald’s separate property, subject to an equitable lien in Leslea’s favor as a derivative of the prior decree and the Sunset sale.
Lien imposed under the judgment is argued to be an improper homestead lien, but court treated it as an implied purchase-money lien tied to the prior decree.
Court determined Leslea’s $125,000 claim was her sole and separate property supported by clear and convincing evidence; reimbursement to the community estate was justified under Texas Family Code provisions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether an equitable lien on Glenwood violates homestead protections	Barras asserts fundamental error imposing lien on separate homestead	Barras contends lien falls outside constitutional exceptions	Lien valid as implied purchase-money lien exception
Whether $125,000 award as Leslea’s separate property is legally sufficient	Leslea, via consent, sought enforcement of unpaid $125,000 from prior decree	Barras argues lack of pleading, limitations, and release defenses	Court correctly awarded $125,000 as Leslea’s separate property; defenses waived or resolved
Whether community-reimbursement from Gerald’s estate was proper	Leslea seeks reimbursement for principal reductions and repairs	Barras contends lack of value-enhancement evidence and improper measure	Reimbursement awarded; within broad discretionary equitable power under §3.402
Whether division of the community estate was an abuse of discretion	Judgment properly divided according to evidence and statutory framework	Barras claims misallocation and error in awards	No abuse; findings supported and judgment affirmed

Heggen v. Pemelton, 836 S.W.2d 145 (Tex. 1992) (limits homestead liens to constitutionally allowed categories)
McGoodwin v. McGoodwin, 671 S.W.2d 880 (Tex. 1984) (implied purchase-money lien arises to secure unpaid debt from prior division)
Nelson v. Nelson, 193 S.W.3d 624 (Tex. App.-Eastland 2006) (treatment of principal reduction as reimbursement under prior law)
Stavinoha v. Stavinoha, 126 S.W.3d 604 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2004) (clear and convincing standard for separate-property findings; weight of evidence)
Zagorski v. Zagorski, 116 S.W.3d 309 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2003) (legal/factual sufficiency standard for separate-property findings)