Facing Divorce is Tough

Texas is a community property state with unique rules governing asset division in a divorce. In a community property framework, all marital assets and debts amassed during the marriage–regardless of which spouse acquired or earned the asset–are presumed to be jointly owned and subject to division by a court. By contrast, separate property generally consists of property a spouse obtained prior to the marriage or during the marriage via gift and/or inheritance. If a spouse proves by clear and convincing evidence that a particular asset is separate, then a court cannot award any part of the separate asset to the other spouse. With regard to community property, courts do not always divide this property equally. Instead, courts strive for a “just and right” division based on weighing a variety of factors including fault in the breakup of the marriage (infidelity to cite one example), disparity in income between the spouses, need for future support, need to care for children, duration of the marriage, size of the estate, and other factors.

After considering these factors, a court may end up awarding one spouse a disproportionate share of the community estate.

The basic tenets of community property sometimes blur when delineating between separate and communal assets. Real estate, retirement funds, investment portfolios, and business ventures can sometimes be of mixed character–both separate and community–which requires more specialized scrutiny for accurate classification.