Denton Divorce Attorneys

Guidelines for the Division of Community Property in Texas

Although the divorce process is a very personal one that deeply affects a family, there are also legal considerations surrounding a divorce. One of these concerns is the how the assets and property of a couple will be divided after the divorce.

First and foremost, in Texas couples have to try to reach an agreement on the division of property. If they cannot do that, then the concept of community property is used. Community property is all property that was purchased after the wedding and before the end of the marriage. In the case of the property, the court divides the community property in such a way that both spouses get property of equal value.

When deciding what property is community property and what is not, the court has certain guidelines that it considers. One is that if a spouse purchases property while in another state, that property is still considered community property given that it would have been considered community property were it purchased in the state of legal residence of the couple.

Another guideline relates to the exchange of property. Specifically, if, while in a state other then the couple’s state of legal residence, a spouse gets some property by exchanging that property for some other property, then the property in possession is considered community property. This is only the case if the property in possession would have been considered community property if obtained while in the couple’s state of legal residence.

However, the courts are willing to consider wages, income, salaries, moneys generated from property, as well other forms of compensation, not as community property but as separate property. This will only happen if couples can agree on the division or if the compensation was already separate.

Consult a Denton Divorce Attorney

From the guidelines above, it is clear that the division of property in Texas can become a complicated a process. If you are going through a divorce, an attorney can help. Contact the Denton divorce attorneys of Alexander & Associates by calling 972-420-6560 for more information.