Houston Business and Family Law Blog

If you have recently filed for divorce in Texas, you may feel overwhelmed with the prospect of separating the marital property you have accumulated throughout your years of marriage. It can be difficult to part with property and possessions that you have held onto for so long. Yet, negotiating community property is part of the divorce process. In Texas, all community or marital property is divided equally in half, with each party getting 50%. However, not all property is considered community. There may be some items that can remain in your sole possession even after the divorce is finalized.

Separate property is not divided in a divorce and stays with the original owner. This includes property that you may have owned prior to getting married. For example, if you owned property before getting married and your name is the only name on the title to that property, it is considered separate and not eligible for division. Yet, if at any time during the marriage you amended the title to include your spouse’s name, the property then becomes marital property.

Going through a divorce can be overwhelming, as there are a myriad of topics to negotiate in the divorce settlement. Separating marital property may be one of the most difficult issues to tackle when dealing with divorce. For some, it can be emotional having to part with property and assets that have been amassed throughout years of marriage. Understanding what marital property entails, however, may help the process run smoother and may help to ensure couples receive everything they are entitled to in the final divorce decree.

While many people think of marital property as the family home, vehicles, cars and savings accounts, there are a host of other types of community property that may be eligible for division in the divorce. These include the following:

The gray divorce phenomenon, or the number of people over the age of 50 who have filed for divorce, has taken America by storm. While only 2.8% of people in this age range filed for divorce 50 years ago, that number increased to 15.4% in 2011 and continues to rise. There are a number of factors to consider when people over the age of 50 decide to terminate their marriage. Like in any divorce, marital property that was accumulated throughout years of marriage must be divided between you and your spouse. However, there may be different financial considerations that affect property division when you are older, compared to when you are younger and going through a divorce.

Many people over the age of 50 have acquired money in a 401k plan, retirement account or term life insurance policy. They many also have Social Security benefits, stock options, homes and other possessions. All of these are eligible for division in a divorce, which could leave some couples in a financial bind when it comes to making it on their own. Texas, like several other states in the nation, is a community property state, meaning all marital property is divided in half between spouses. This may involve selling the family home and other possessions and then splitting the revenue in half. In some cases, people may have to return to work or turn to other means of income in order to financially support themselves post-divorce.

It is not uncommon for those who have recently divorced to want to move away from Houston. Staying in the same general area in which they made their lives with their ex-spouse may serve to bring up painful memories of the circumstances that contributed to the end off their marriage. For this reason, many of those who relocate after a divorce will often seek to put distance between themselves and their ex-spouses. Americans in general tend to go significant distances when they move (indeed, information shared by Move.org shows that over one-third of relocations are outside of one's current county). Yet moving away can be complicated when a divorced couple shares custody of their children. 

Many states have created laws specific to the issue of parental relocation. Texas, however, has not. When considering this matter, local family courts issue rulings that support the basic purpose of custody determinations in this state, which (according to Section 153.001 of the Texas Family Code) are: 

• That children have continuing and frequent contact with both parents (when both have shown the ability to act in their best interests)
• That children are raised in a safe and stable environment
• That parents share in the rights and responsibilities of raising their children