Divorce is often trying enough, but then there’s the prospect of handing over half of your assets. One of the most common questions people have about going through a divorce is, “How are assets divided in Texas divorce?”
Dividing Assets in Texas Divorce
If a divorcing couple cannot agree on how to divide their assets, the responsibility will fall to a judge. The judge will follow state divorce law to determine how the property will be divided. The various assets will be divided into two categories, community property and individual property.
Community Property in Divorce
Texas is a community property state, meaning that much of the property owned by a spouse will be considered jointly owned in marriage. This means that the court will divide the community owned property as evenly as possible.
Assets generally considered to be community property include all monetary earnings of both partners during the marriage, any property acquired with those earnings, and any debt incurred during the marriage.
Individual Property in Divorce
Individual property is typically any property that one spouse owned prior to the marriage or any property acquired specifically with one spouse’s funds. For example, a business owned by one spouse before the marriage, inheritance given to one spouse, or personal injury awards distributed to one spouse.
Determining whether or not any property is considered separately owned is often extremely complicated. Property that gains value, such as a business, during the marriage could be categorized as community property, and pensions could be divided in half depending on when it became vested.
A Texas divorce attorney with experience will be adept at proving assets to be owned by individuals rather than the community.
