Texas is a community property state, but what does that mean? What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too? What you think of as your own separate property may really be community property. Or what truly is your separate property may end up being commingled with community funds and hard to identify. A good family law attorney can help sort that out.

Community Property

In Texas, divorce attorneys advise that everything acquired during the marriage is classified as community property, which can include:

• Income either spouse earns during the marriage.
• Property purchased during the marriage like a home or vehicle.
• Credit card or loan debt acquired during the marriage.
• Retirement benefits.
• Interest or dividends earned on either spouse’s separate property during the marriage.

Separate Property

What about property you may have acquired before the marriage? Or a gift your spouse gave you? Or property you may have inherited from a relative?

Presumptively, divorce attorneys advise their clients that everything acquired during marriage is community property unless it is separate property or you agree otherwise. In Texas, separate property is classified as:

• Property owned before the marriage.
• A gift or inheritance received by one spouse.
• The recovery for personal injuries sustained by the spouse during marriage, except any recovery for loss of earning capacity for marriage.

A good family law attorney will be able to identify, valuate and classify the property in the marriage as either separate or community property. Once the community property has been identified it is subject to a “just and right division” by the courts.

Division Of Property

When divorce lawyers are helping their client consider how to divide community property, they advise that judges may consider the following:

• Length of the marriage.
• Each spouse’s level of education.
• Future business opportunities.
• Employability of each spouse.
• Disparity in earning capacities or income.
• Fault in the breakup of the marriage.
• Whether there are children.
• Existence of each spouse’s separate property.

While there are many more factors to consider, divorce attorneys advise that it is important to understand the nature and value of the community property. In a divorce, you are awarded what you are entitled to.

Fault And Division Of Property

Some marriages end in divorce because of the fault of one spouse. Under these circumstances, you may be entitled to a disproportionate share of the community estate. Divorce lawyers explain to their clients that some of the grounds for fault in the marriage may include:

• Cruelty
• Adultery
• Abandonment
• Family violence

If you want to learn more about what your rights are in the marriage with respect to property or even how to preserve what you believe may be your separate property, you need to seek the services of experienced divorce attorneys.

Reynaldo Garza, III

Downtown Brownsville
Principal Office
680 East St. Charles St, Suite 600
Brownsville TX 78520
956-382-7002

North Brownsville
Meetings With Attorneys By Appointment Only
1393 East Alton Gloor Blvd, Suite 12
Brownsville TX 78526
956-382-7002