If you are facing a Texas divorce, the division of your marital assets is a primary concern, and the better you understand the process, the better prepared you’ll be to protect your financial rights. Property division is a complex legal matter, which makes having an experienced Round Rock property division attorney in your corner an excellent place to start.
Do Know What is Considered Marital Property in Texas
In the state of Texas, anything that you, your spouse, or you and your spouse together come to own while you are married is considered marital property. While you may think of a specific purchase as being yours alone, such as your car – and your spouse may feel the same way about their vehicle – this isn’t the way the law sees it.
Everything that you purchase during your marriage, including a car that you call your own, is a marital asset that will need to be considered in the division of your marital property.
The very few exceptions include the following:
Any gifts that are given specifically to either one of you – but not both of you
Anything that either one of you inherits on your own
The pain and suffering compensation from a personal injury claim made during the marriage
All other assets – regardless of whose name is attached, who made the purchase, or who uses the item – are marital and will need to be divided between you in your divorce.
Don’t Confuse Marital and Separate Assets
Marital assets are those assets you acquired while you were married, and separate assets refer to anything either of you owned prior to marriage. When you bring something of value with you into your marriage, it belongs to you alone, and it will remain yours if you divorce.
It should be noted, however, that the line that divides separate assets from marital assets is not particularly strong, and any commingling of the two can weaken your claim that a specific asset is separate.
Some points to keep in mind when it comes to separate assets include the following:
The State of Texas begins with the presumption that all the assets a couple owns are marital.
For a separate property to remain separate throughout the marriage, it must be kept separate.
The burden of proving that a separate asset is, indeed, separate rests with the spouse who is making the claim.
The legal standard for proving that something belongs to one spouse alone is clear and convincing evidence.
The more complicated the financials related to the separate asset in question are, the more difficult it will be to prove its separate nature.
The amount that a separate asset increases in value over the course of the marriage is likely to be treated as marital property.
Proving the separate nature of an asset can become a hotly contested issue that makes the division of property that much more challenging.
Do Know that Texas Is a Community Property State
Texas is what is considered a community property state, which means – in theory – that all marital property will be divided equally between the two spouses upon divorce. Texas, however, puts its own spin on things by requiring that property division in a divorce be just and right in relation to the circumstances involved.
In other words, Texas courts have the discretion to divide assets unevenly when called for, and the factors that guide them include the following:
The size of the marital estate and of each spouse’s separate estate
The length of the marriage
Each spouse’s age and overall mental and physical health
Each spouse’s income and earning power
The contributions each spouse made to the marriage, including in the form of caring for the children and home
Any fraud on the estate, such as in the form of hiding, spending down, or giving away marital assets
Wrongdoing, which can play a role even in a no-fault divorce – such as if a spouse uses marital assets to bankroll an affair
To summarize, yes, Texas is a community property state, and yes, property is often divided evenly in divorce – but when the circumstances support it, the division can be lopsided. A seasoned property division attorney will strive to ensure that your financial rights are well protected throughout the divorce process – regardless of how complex the matter becomes.
Don’t Forget about Marital Debt
When it comes to the division of your marital property, you’ll need to also take the matter of marital debt into consideration.
Like marital property, marital debt refers to the debt you, your spouse, or the two of you together acquired over the course of your marriage. In the division of your marital property upon divorce, your marital debt will be treated exactly like your marital assets, which will likely mean being divided evenly between the two of you.
When supported by the involved circumstances, however, the court has the discretion to offset the division of your marital property with your marital debt in a manner it deems just and right, which may not be equal.
Do Your Homework
The division of your marital property will play an important role in your future, which makes protecting your rights paramount. The most important step you can take toward this end – second only to working closely with a dedicated property division attorney – is doing your homework upfront and knowing what your marital assets are to begin with.
This is all the more important if your spouse is far more involved in your household’s finances than you are. Other factors that make your due diligence that much more important when it comes to documenting your marital assets include the following:
Complicated financials, such as joint holdings
The more complicated your family’s financials are, the easier it is for your soon-to-be ex to skew the division of property in their own favor. Valuations are likely to enter the picture, and business ownership is an excellent tool for moving funds in ways that make it challenging to get a true reading on worth.
The bottom line is that, if you are even considering divorce, it’s a good time to start making copies of all the financial documents you can get your hands on – and to do all the digging that you need to do. Once your divorce is underway, it can be more difficult to acquire the documentation you need to prove your overall worth as a couple.
Although your determined divorce attorney will make sure that all your assets are well accounted for, the more time that elapses, the more time-consuming and costly this project is likely to become.
Don’t Attempt to Hide Assets Yourself
As mentioned, the more complicated your marital finances are, the more opportunities there are to engage in financial hijinks that are designed to deprive the other spouse of value they’re entitled to. When this happens, the culprit is typically discovered – but it can require a good deal of digging and additional work on the other side’s part.
The most important point to be made here is that the court takes a dim view of fraud on the community estate, which is how such antics are viewed. In response, the court can award a lopsided division of assets that favors the other spouse and can require the wrongdoer to cover their ex’s legal expenses.
Avoiding the Court’s Wrath
You do not want to be on the receiving end of the court’s anger. Yes, you should fiercely advocate for every penny of the compensation to which you are entitled, but cheating is never the way to go – especially when the law is involved. Divorce is hard enough on you, and you’re going to want to walk away with your head held high – knowing that you played by the rules.
If You’re Convinced Your Spouse Is Getting Tricky with the Assets
If you’re convinced that your spouse is up to no good when it comes to your marital assets, the answer is not to retaliate by playing financial games of your own.
Instead, this is a matter that you should discuss with your trusted asset division attorney – who will leave no stone unturned in their quest to uncover all your marital assets and in their advocacy for a division that supports your rights and penalizes your ex for their financial wrongdoing.
Do Take Your Time
If you’re facing a divorce, you naturally want to put it behind you sooner rather than later, but rushing the process when it comes to something as important as the division of your marital property is not going to do you any favors.
You’re far better off taking your time and getting it right, because – unless you can prove that your spouse perpetrated financial fraud in your divorce after the fact – there are no do-overs.
Don’t Overlook Retirement Accounts
Many people have hefty retirement accounts, and these accounts are often among the largest assets in divorce. Retirement accounts are a unique asset because many people come into their marriages with these accounts in tow, which means the value of the asset to that date is separate.
The amount that the account grows in value over the course of the marriage, however, is marital and needs to be divided between the spouses fairly in the event of divorce.
Retirement accounts tend to be tricky because, although you and your spouse are divorcing and need to divide the value, cashing in a retirement account early comes with hefty fines and penalties.
As such, the law employs specific orders, such as qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs), that address this issue. The recipient can generally roll the amount received through the QDRO over tax-free. Retirement accounts tend to add an additional layer of complexity to property division, but a practiced property division attorney can help.
Do Count on Your Accomplished Attorney to Protect Your Financial Rights
Your financial rights in the face of divorce are far too important to leave to chance, and you can count on your savvy property division attorney to help protect your financial rights in all the following ways:
By ensuring that you understand how property division works in the State of Texas
By accurately assessing the full value of your marital estate
By skillfully negotiating for a division that supports your rights, including in response to any factors that may qualify you for a larger share
By rooting out any financial wrongdoing on your spouse’s part – as applicable
By guiding you smoothly through the process and helping you avoid the common mistakes that could leave you with less
By moving your case effectively and efficiently forward toward completion without ever cutting corners in terms of protecting your financial rights
By being well prepared to take your case to court in the event that your spouse refuses to engage in fair negotiations
Don’t Try to Go It Alone
Even if you think the property division in your case is very straightforward, attempting to handle the matter on your own is not the way to go. Having a knowledgeable property division attorney on your side from the beginning can make a serious difference in the outcome of your case, which – in turn – can make a serious difference in your financial future.
The right time to seek the professional legal guidance of a well-respected property division attorney is now.
Reach Out to an Experienced Round Rock Property Division Attorney Today
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a very capable Round Rock property division attorney who welcomes the opportunity to skillfully protect your financial rights in support of your brightest post-divorce future.
Your case is important, so please don’t put off contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 to schedule a free consultation and learn more today.