Failure to Insure Children - Property Settlement Agreement

In Spradley v. Hutchison, 787 S.W.2d 214, 216 (Tex. App.--Fort Worth 1990, writ denied) Hutchison was ordered to maintain health insurance for the children, he did not do so. Hutchison brought suit to enforce the parties' property settlement agreement with which Spradley had not complied. The trial court awarded Hutchison the sum due pursuant to the property settlement agreement offset by one-half of the insurance premiums paid by Spradley. The court of appeals rejected the argument that the trial court improperly modified the decree by offsetting Hutchison's award with the insurance premiums, and held that because the order did not purport to change the decree, it was not a modification. Id. at 217. It was within the trial court's discretion, the court concluded, to compensate Spradley for the damages caused by Hutchison's failure to insure the children as he was ordered to do. Id.