Community Property vs. Separate Property | ONDA Family Law

Описание: Property division in Texas is subject to specific laws. Except in rare cases, marital property gets divided in divorce; and in Texas, it is not necessarily divided 50/50.

Separate property is ordinarily all of the property that cannot be divided in a divorce, though parties can make agreements outside of court to award their separate property to the other spouse. A court cannot take away your separate property and award it to your spouse. Likewise, the court cannot award your spouse’s separate property to you. Separate property is property that:

1) Either spouse owned prior to marriage;
2) Property that was given to a spouse as a gift;
3) Property inherited by a spouse;
4) Property recovered for a personal injury.
5) Property that was agreed to in writing between the spouse to remain/transform into separate property (premarital and postmarital agreements).

Community property is any property acquired during your marriage. Community property is the property that spouses will have to divide in their divorce.

When trying to decide if property is indeed community property, begin by identifying the date of marriage. Then identify any property that was acquired after your date of marriage.

The list of property should include, but is not limited to, the following: real property, buildings, businesses, cash accounts, cash on hand, retirement accounts/benefits, IRAs, CDs, military benefits, government benefits, life insurance, annuities, motor vehicles, boats, airplanes, motorcycles, ATVs, jet skis, jewelry, furnishings, artwork, electronics, sporting goods, firearms, livestock, travel rewards, antiques, club memberships, stocks, bonds, gold, silver, investment properties, equipment, inventory, mutual funds, notes receivables, copyrights, domain names, mineral rights, patents, royalty agreements, trade secrets, oil and gas property, and timeshares – just to name a few.

Knowing what is community property versus separate property is the first step towards identifying and dividing up your property. When in doubt, ask your divorce lawyer and collect as many documents as possible to explain the factors surrounding your purchase or acquisition of the property.

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About ONDA
Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson has served families for more than 30 years. With offices in Dallas, Frisco and San Antonio, ONDA is one of Texas’ largest Family Law firms. Each partner is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and each is a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists.