Texas couples who are headed for divorce face different obstacles than couples in the majority of the United States because Texas is one of the nine states that operate under a community property statute. Learning more about how this will affect your divorce is quite important.
While most states follow the doctrine of equitable distribution of marital property in divorce, in Texas, all money, property and assets acquired during the marriage are subject to be divided 50-50. The same standard also applies to marital debts.
How can this affect your divorce settlement?
Rest assured that you will still be entitled to full ownership of any separate property that you brought into the marriage. Also, any gifts or inheritances that were given or bequeathed solely to you will remain fully yours as long as you never commingled them with marital funds or assets.
If, however, you did commingle separately owned funds with marital funds to purchase a home or other shared property, the portion purchased with funds of the community is then considered to be shared by both spouses and subject to division.
But I signed a prenuptial agreement. Doesn’t that count?
Indeed it does, as long as your prenuptial agreement is legally sound and neither party signed under duress or other conditions which could make its legal status otherwise precarious. In most but not all divorce cases, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements supersede the community property laws in the state of Texas.
Seek guidance to get things right in your divorce
Because this is a very important matter, it is vital to seek the counsel of an experienced legal advocate when contemplating filing for divorce in the state of Texas.
