The Division of Community Property in Fort Worth Texas

Texas is a “Community Property” state. Community property is all property that was acquired during the marriage. By state law, this property will be divided equally by the court if the parties are not able to come to an agreement. In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court may order a division of the estate of the parties in a manner that the court deems just and right, having due regard for the rights of each party and any children of the marriage. The court may order a division of the following real and personal property, wherever situated if the:

• property that was acquired by either spouse while domiciled in another state and that would have been community property if the spouse who acquired the property had been domiciled in this state at the time of the acquisition;

• property that was acquired by either spouse in exchange for real or personal property and that would have been community property if the spouse who acquired the property so exchanged had been domiciled in this state at the time of its acquisition.

  In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court may award to a spouse the following real and personal property, wherever situated, as the separate property of the spouse if the:

• property that was acquired by the spouse while domiciled in another state and that would have been the spouse’s separate property if the spouse had been domiciled in this state at the time of acquisition;

• property that was acquired by the spouse in exchange for real or personal property and that would have been the spouse’s separate property if the spouse had been domiciled in this state at the time of acquisition.
  In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court may confirm the following as the separate property of a spouse if partitioned or exchanged by written agreement of the spouses:

• Income and earnings from the spouses’ property, wages, salaries, and other forms of compensation received on or after January 1 of the year in which the suit for dissolution of marriage was filed;

• Income and earnings from the spouses’ property, wages, salaries, and other forms of compensation received in another year during which the spouses were married for any part of the year.

In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court may determine the rights of both spouses in a pension, retirement plan, annuity, individual retirement account, employee stock option plan, stock option, or other form of savings, bonus, profit-sharing, or other employer plan or financial plan of an employee or a participant, regardless of whether the person is self-employed, in the nature of compensation or savings.

In Texas, the laws are complicated when it comes to the division of the personal property obtained while married. What happens, for instance, if you decide you are going to get a divorce and your spouse runs off with or sells some of your community property? If you are considering a divorce in or around Ft. Worth, Texas, please contact us right now at www.divorceattorneyhome.com, and we can help you find a divorce attorney in your area that can answer any legal questions you may have about divorce and the ramifications of dividing community property.