Texas Property Division Attorneys
Property Attorney Houston
Community property laws show how property should be divided when a marriage comes to an end in Texas. That means that most of the property you and your spouse acquired during your marriage belongs to both of you and must be divided between you if you divorce. But sometimes confusion arises in a situation where both spouses came into the marriage with separate property or the marital wealth is significant.
You should hire an experienced property division attorney to help protect your property rights during divorce.
The Right Way To Divide Marital Estates
Texas Community Property
Texas requires marital estates to undergo a “just and right” division process. Some of the factors that determine a just and right property division include:
- A spouse’s fault in the breakup of the marriage
- The gaps in the amounts of monthly income the parties in the marriage make
- The age and physical capabilities of the parties
- The level of education of each spouse
- The nature of the needs of an adult child with a disability
- A party wasting community assets
- An innocent spouse losing access to benefits that they enjoyed while in the marriage
There are several other factors that a divorce court will consider when deciding how your community property will be split. The most ideal scenario is for the community property to be divided 50-50. But if there is a wronged party the divisions can be 53-47, 57-43, or 60-40. There are some extreme situations where a court can order a 70-30 division or higher.
What Is Community Property?
Common Law Marriage Houston
Community property is property acquired by either spouse during marriage, other than separate property. But the nature of an asset, the duration of the marriage, and estate size can make it more complex to clearly determine community property. On the other hand, separate property is anything a party owned prior to the marriage.
But property received as gifts by one spouse during the marriage or compensation to one spouse for personal injury is also considered as separate property.
Protecting Your Separate Property
TX Divorce Laws Property
Its not unusual for a conflict to emerge on whether an asset is separate property or not during a divorce. This is because the separate property is not required to be divided between the parties getting a divorce. A property division attorney with years of experience can help you identify community property and separate property.
This is important because if separate property is not proven during the divorce process it will be divided just like other community property.
How A Property Division Attorney Can Help
Texas Marital Property Law
You need an attorney with enough resources and access to financial experts to ensure that your property is divided properly. These financial experts are very useful when it comes to valuing complex assets that cannot be liquidated such as businesses and certain types of stock.
Your attorney can investigate if there are any hidden property or assets that your spouse failed to disclose so that you can get your share. The lawyer can also ensure that you pay all the taxes and debts connected to the property you received.