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Divorce in Texas: Who Keeps the House?
In a divorce, property division can cause a lot of issues between you and your former spouse. Who gets the house is not always a simple question to answer both parties may feel entitled to keep it.
In Texas, during a divorce, your family’s home would be considered community property or separate property. Texas is a community property state, which means, you and your spouse would both be considered owners of your home.
What is Community Property?
Community property, also called marital property, in Texas means all of the income you and your spouse earned and any property you purchased during your marriage equally belongs to you and your spouse.
While community property is sometimes divided equally among spouses depending on the situation and what the court decides, the property can be split through equitable distribution.
Equitable distribution allows a judge to determine how much of the property you’re entitled to. This won’t always result in an equal split as the court will deem what it sees as fair to you both.
Who Gets the House Under Community Property?
If you and your ex purchased your house together while you were married, then the house technically belongs to both of you. Even if only one of your names is on the deed to your house, if it was purchased during the marriage, it could be considered marital property that you both share equal ownership of.
However, there are circumstances where your home would be considered as separate property.
What is Separate Property?
Separate property is a property you owned before the marriage, a gift you received, or an inheritance.
Separate property can be money, a house you inherited from family, clothes you bought before getting married, or if you bought a house before getting married. Classifying real estate as separate property can be complicated depending on the details of how you obtained the property.
If you consider your property a separate property, you would need to explain to your attorney how you obtained the property so that they can help you negotiate to keep it.
Who Gets the House Under Separate Property?
If you owned the home before you got married, then it’s likely that you may be able to keep the property without it being divided under equitable distribution.
If you were given the home as a gift or inheritance, then your spouse may not have a claim to the property.
Temple, TX Property Division Attorney Bobby Dale Barina
Whether or not you have to divide your home with your spouse if you get divorced depends on many different factors that can be further explained by our divorce attorney Bobby Dale Barina of Bobby Dale Barina, Attorney At Law.
