Also, if you inherit a home but both you and your spouse move into the home, it could be considered community property.
One other way to protect an inheritance is to have your spouse sign a postnuptial agreement whereby he or she agrees that the inheritance is yours, no matter how it is used in the marriage. Pensions, IRAs, Ks and retirement plans are treated just like other assets in a divorce.
They are considered community property and dividing them must be taking into consideration as part of the divorce process. Many times, because pensions can involve large amounts of money, they may be used to negotiate when trading off value in other assets such as a house. For example, if there is a lot of equity in a home, one spouse may trade off an interest in pensions or retirement funds in exchange for taking possession of the family home. Legally splitting pensions and other retirement funds are a multiple step process.
First, a divorce decree must order that these assets be divided. From this, a qualified domestic relations order, more commonly referred to as a QDRO will be created. The QDRO must be approved by the courts and then it can be submitted to the plan administrator of each pension account who must also approve it.
This establishes that your spouse can be considered an alternate payee, and the retirement vehicle is then divided according to the specifics contained in the QDRO. Their platform is the leading brand in providing comprehensible QDRO drafting solutions.
Because Texas is a community property state, all assets acquired during the marriage are presumed to be owned equally by both spouses.
However, Texas law also allows that certain property may be considered a separate property under some circumstances. Those instances include:. There are complexities when it comes to separate property. Any inheritance acquired during a marriage is considered separate property but if the assets of the inheritance are commingled, perhaps in a bank account, or if both people live in an inherited residence, then it may be possible to claim that the inherited assets have become community property.
In cases where a home was bought before two people married, if both people live in the home during the marriage and both contribute to mortgage payments, then the case can be made that the house is no longer separate property, but community property instead. The issues of community property vs. There are big differences between them, including how much they pay out, for how long, how a spouse gets the support and how they may be changed or enforced.
Spousal support is paid over and above child support. With spousal maintenance, a judge can order a spouse to pay involuntarily as part of divorce litigation.
Contractual alimony occurs when one spouse voluntarily agrees to pay the other spouse. The court still needs to approve this arrangement.
A court can legally enforce this type of alimony payment if needed, treating it as he or she would any other contract in Texas. Because Texas is a community property state, the value of various assets are divided as close as possible to be even with each other. A spouse who has stayed at home and taken care of children or not worked outside the home will not be penalized for doing so.
When a couple divorces, spousal maintenance is seen as a bridge for a non-working spouse to carry them to self-sufficiency until they can get a job. While some view this as a disincentive to work, the state also recognizes that a person who has been out of the workforce for some time will need assistance in training, getting a better education, caring for family members or if they have been a victim of domestic violence.
For court order spousal maintenance to occur, a spouse must prove at least one of the following conditions exist:. If a judge rules that a spouse is eligible for spousal maintenance, then they must decide how much to award.
The judge will also consider:. Statutes also cap how long spousal maintenance can take place and will vary based on several factors. Child support in Texas is based on how much money the paying spouse makes minus certain allowed deductions.
That amount will be reviewed and probably changed in September In addition, the amount of parenting time spent by each parent is also an important factor as well. Part of the reason that child support is one of the more confrontational issues is that one or both of the parents may not accurately release their current financial information.
When it is suspected that this is the case, significant delays can take place. Under Texas law, a paying spouse is calculated as a percentage of net monthly resources.
It will vary by the number of children who must be supported as well. In some cases, a parent may fall behind on child support payments, or they may completely disregard what the law says and what the court has put in place.
When this happens, the other spouse can seek a court order compelling the parent to pay the required level of child support.
Unless parents can come up with a parenting plan that is approved by the courts, a judge will set forth the terms of the conservatorship. In call cases, the terms of the conservatorship are determined by the best interests of the child involved in the divorce. A joint managing conservatorship means that both the mother and the father will share the rights and duties of being a parent.
However, certain decisions and responsibilities may be assigned to one parent only. If both parents are made conservators, then the courts will decide which parent or it both parents make decisions jointly. This can become complicated when there are not equal possession and custody of a child. See more about Our Family Wizard here! A sole managing conservatorship means that the courts grant rights to only one parent to make certain decisions about a child.
Custodial rights are often determined by a number of things, but always with the overarching principle of what is in the best interests of the child. Other factors may include:. Texas is a no-fault divorce state, so this does not need to be stated as a reason for ending a marriage. However, when it comes to child custody and visitation issues, the presence or drug or alcohol abuse by one spouse will definitely have a major impact on their ability to secure these rights.
Courts always make decisions based on the best interests of any child involved in a divorce. Substance abuse can also affect a division of assets in Texas when it is determined that one spouse or the other spent considerable marital resources on to feed a drug or alcohol habit, or that it contributed to related negative behaviors such as a gambling problem.
Before it can be introduced as a factor, a substance abuse problem must be documented and proven. This can be done by testing, the testimony of other family members, representatives from social services agencies or other parties who have an interest in the outcome of the divorce and can provide additional insights.
Bifurcation means that both parties in a divorce can legally declared as a single person while the other issues in their divorce are still being worked out. It does not affect things such as child custody, visitation, child support, alimony or other contentious issues that may have stalled or become major sticking points that are keeping the divorce from being finalized. Section 6. Initial Divorce Forms There is only one "official" divorce form in Texas. The toolkit contains instructions, forms, frequently asked questions, and more.
Instructions and forms for both agreed and default divorces are included. Divorce Forms - Minor Children Involved with Existing Final Custody Order Texas Law Help has created a toolkit for divorces where the family has minor children and there is already a final custody order in place.
E-Filing E-filing is a way of filing court documents electronically, without having to send in paper copies to the clerk's office. Court Fees, Attorney Fees, and Temporary Support If you can't afford the expenses of filing for divorce, there are some options available to you.
Understanding the Law. Also known as an affidavit of indigency or a pauper's affidavit. The forms are from Tarrant County but may be able to be modified for use in your jurisdiction. Please check with an attorney for assistance. Texas family law practice and procedure [electronic resource] See Volume 1, Task C6 - Obtaining Temporary Orders, for more information and forms.
Report a problem. However, SAPCR cases do not address common legal separation issues, such as property division or alimony payments. Instead of filing a SAPCR case, couples who qualify to file for divorce can file their divorce paperwork and ask the court to issue temporary orders until the divorce is final.
These temporary orders could include the payment of monthly expenses, temporary spousal support, temporary custody of the children and temporary child support payments, much like orders in a typical legal separation. The court can then wrap these temporary orders into the divorce decree or simply allow them to expire when the divorce becomes final.
Texas allows spouses to enter into contractual separation agreements or property partition agreements to govern their conduct prior to a divorce.
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