Property Division Attorney in McKinney, Texas
How is marital property divided under Texas law?
How is marital property divided under Texas law?
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00:04
so texas is a community property state
00:06
and everything is presumed to be
00:08
community property
00:09
meaning that both parties equally own
00:13
that property there are certain things
00:15
that are separate that would be anything
00:17
that a party had coming into the
00:19
marriage
00:20
anything that was inherited a gift or
00:23
certain personal injury damages
00:24
now the burden is on the person trying
00:26
to prove separate property to do that
00:29
and to prove you know how much was in an
00:31
account when they got married or to
00:32
prove they received
00:34
certain money and inheritance from a
00:36
grandparent or whatever the case may be
00:38
then when it comes time to dividing
00:39
property
00:41
texas divides property in a manner that
00:43
is quote just in right
00:44
and this is referring strictly to
00:45
community property
00:47
usually it’s a 50-50 split but it can be
00:50
shifted slightly one way or the other
00:52
depending on a variety of circumstances
00:55
fault grounds
00:57
high earning capacity of one spouse or a
01:00
large separate state of one spouse or
01:02
certain factors that can be used
01:05
in shifting the state one way or the
01:07
other
01:08
and dividing the state 50 50 does not
01:11
necessarily mean
01:12
we’re dividing each individual asset and
01:14
each individual debt down the middle
01:16
we’re looking at the whole pie and how
01:17
we want to divide it
01:19
now not every asset is apples to apples
01:23
so retirement money is not the same as
01:25
equity in the home
01:26
is not the same as an investment account
01:28
or cash
01:30
so i really like to look at a client’s
01:32
priorities
01:33
does somebody really value the house
01:35
they really want to keep that house
01:37
because they really want to raise their
01:38
kids in it
01:39
we look at the estate does it make sense
01:41
to do that and if so how can we make
01:42
that happen
01:43
you know if somebody really values
01:45
retirement you know
01:47
what can we do to help shift more of the
01:48
retirement money to that client
01:51
some people especially if they’ve been a
01:52
stay-at-home parent really value
01:54
liquidity
01:55
because they’re going to need that
01:57
liquid cash to be able to survive until
02:00
they get on their own two feet
Dallas, TX family law attorney Holly Draper explains how marital property is divided under Texas law.
