Galveston Family Law Blog

How is community property divided during a Texas divorce?

Unlike some other community property states, such as California, community property is divided equitably in Texas. "Equitable distribution" of community property is somewhat subjective. Courts have wide latitude in deciding what is equitable based on the circumstances of the case. It is not necessary for courts to divide the property 50/50.

How is property divided that is both community and separate property?

Some property is a mix of community and separate property. For example, if a spouse contributed $3,000 of the money he or she made before marriage to buy a $10,000 boat but the other $7,000 was joint funds, then the spouse has a 30 percent separate property interest in the boat while the remaining 70 percent would be divided as community property. Seventy percent of the boat's worth could then be included in the equitable distribution of the martial estate.

Perhaps you had better credit than your husband or wife going into marriage. Now, you are separated and you worry that your spouse’s credit card use will affect your credit score. What can you do to protect your credit rating from your spouse’s misuse of funds?

Texas is a community property state, which means that all property and debts accrued during marriage belong equally to both spouses. In other words, the debt your spouse accrued on credit cards during marriage is equally your debt to pay.

Yet, that does not necessarily mean that you will be held responsible by credit card companies for that debt. Most credit card companies will look to the person who signed for the card when determining credit issues. Only once they resolve a judgment against the signatory will they go after joint assets to recover for a debt.

A family law judge reviewed one of Texas' do-it-yourself internet divorce forms. His job was more challenging than it would be if the parties had attorneys: He had to read through the papers for legal inaccuracies, and there were many. The biggest problem? The divorcing parties had not realized that one spouse was entitled to a percentage of the other spouse's retirement benefits.

Most judges would agree that do-it-yourself divorces do not work for the majority of spouses. Most of the time, the parties simply do not know how to complete the forms and do not do their homework. They may fill out the form thinking divorce can be a simple process, but in doing so, they miss significant factors or make legal errors. This means redoing the divorce papers, reappearing in court and backing up the entire court system.

Why is divorce complicated? There are many factors to consider and 226 unique chapters in the Texas Family Code. In addition, courts have made decisions that are not captured in the Family Code but can influence other decisions.

In most divorce cases, determining where to file the divorce is easy: You file in the state where you and your spouse live. For military spouses, however, there may be a decision to make. The spouses might live in different states and could even own property in third state.

Where can you file for divorce? How do you determine which state is the best option?

First, you can file for divorce in a state where one or both parties is a resident. If just one party has residency in a state, the other party must agree to allow the divorce to proceed there. To determine residency, ask yourself these questions: Where do I vote? What state's driver's license do I carry? Where do I pay taxes? Where is my church, my bank, my property? It is a wise decision to file in the state that is most convenient for you -- where it is easiest for you to attend hearings.