HOW DO TEXAS DIVORCE COURTS DIVIDE MARITAL PROPERTY

HOW DO TEXAS DIVORCE COURTS DIVIDE MARITAL PROPERTY

In order to ensure you are getting a fair divorce settlement, it is important to understand how Texas courts divide marital property.

Community property

In general, everything that you and your spouse purchased during the course of your marriage is marital property. You and your spouse will have to divide anything that the court classifies as marital property. Texas divorce law incorporates the principles of community property. This means that, in theory, you should divide all property obtained during the marriage should be equally divided. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, if you have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement in place, the court will allow you to divide the property according to the contract.

Inception of title rule

Equal division does not necessarily mean perfectly in half. The court will enact the inception of title rule with regard to certain property. This means that the court will examine the status of the property at the time you or your spouse acquired it and make a decision based on those facts.

Separate property

Not all the property you acquired during your marriage falls into the realm of community property. For example, any birthday gifts or inheritances you received, family heirlooms, or anything you bought before you were married classifies as separate property in the eyes of the court.

However, if your separate property becomes too commingled with the community property and it is not easy to separate the two, it might lose its status as separate. In this situation, the property will be subject to the division rules that pertain to community property. Furthermore, you will have to provide evidence that the property is separate and should not be included in the community property.