## Facts

- Ross Glaze and Mary Elizabeth Glaze were married, and Ross filed for divorce in Texas.
- The Texas trial court had personal jurisdiction over both spouses.
- The trial court granted the divorce and divided the spouses’ community property.
- As part of the property division, the trial court ordered Mary to convey (execute a transfer of) real property located in New Mexico to Ross.
- Mary appealed, arguing that a Texas court lacked jurisdiction to affect rights in real property located outside Texas and therefore could not order the conveyance.

## Issues

1. Whether a Texas divorce court that has personal jurisdiction over both spouses may order one spouse to convey real property located in another state as part of dividing the marital estate.

## Decision

- The court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s decree.
- The Texas court’s order requiring Mary to convey the New Mexico real property was valid because it operated against Mary personally (an in personam order) rather than as a direct adjudication of title to the New Mexico land (an in rem judgment).

## Legal Principles

- In a divorce, a Texas court must divide the parties’ community property in a manner that is “just and right.”
- A state court generally cannot exercise in rem jurisdiction to directly determine title to, or directly transfer title of, real property located in another state.
- When a court has personal jurisdiction over the parties, it may issue in personam orders compelling a party to perform acts—such as executing a deed—relating to out-of-state real property.
- The validity of such an order rests on the court’s power over the person who must act; enforcement is against the person (for example, through contempt), not against the land located outside the state.

## Conclusion

In re Marriage of Glaze holds that, although a Texas court cannot directly change title to real property located in another state by a judgment operating on the land itself, it may, in a Texas divorce case where it has personal jurisdiction over both spouses, order a spouse to execute a conveyance of out-of-state real property as part of the division of the marital estate; the appellate court therefore affirmed the conveyance order concerning the New Mexico property.


In re Marriage of Glaze, 605 S.W.2d 721 (1980)