Texas Community Property — "Just and Right" Division
Texas is a community property state, but with an important twist: unlike California's strict 50/50 rule, Texas courts divide community property in a manner that is "just and right" under Texas Family Code §7.001. This means courts can — and regularly do — award more than 50% to one spouse based on fault, disparity of earning power, size of separate estates, or custody of children.
Community Property
- Income earned during marriage
- Property bought during marriage
- Retirement benefits earned in marriage
- Business interests created during marriage
- Debts incurred during marriage
Separate Property
- Assets owned before marriage
- Inheritances (at any time)
- Gifts to one spouse only
- Recovery for personal injury (except lost earning capacity)
- Assets covered by prenuptial agreement
Separate property presumption is rebuttable. Texas presumes all property owned during marriage is community property. To protect separate property, you must clearly trace its origin — typically requiring documentation going back to before the marriage or to the moment of inheritance/gift.
Fault-Based Divorce Grounds
Texas is one of the few states that still allows fault as grounds for divorce — and fault can affect property division. If you can prove fault, a court may award you a disproportionate share of the community estate. This makes documentation of fault — and defense against fault claims — strategically significant.
Texas Fault Grounds (Texas Family Code §6.001–6.007)
Most Texas divorces proceed on "insupportability" grounds (the Texas equivalent of no-fault). However, if one spouse engaged in conduct that wasted community assets — gambling, substance abuse, extramarital spending — documenting this can support a disproportionate division claim.
Key Texas Divorce Forms
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Petition
Original Petition for Divorce Filed by the petitioner to initiate the divorce. Specifies grounds, children, property claims.
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SAPCR
Suit Affecting Parent-Child Relationship Required when minor children are involved — addresses custody, visitation, and child support
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IFP
Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs Fee waiver application if you cannot afford filing fees
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MSA
Marital Settlement Agreement Documents all property division, support, and custody agreements — must be approved by the court
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QDRO
Qualified Domestic Relations Order Required to divide employer-sponsored retirement accounts (401k, pension) — must be prepared separately by a specialist
Texas does not have statewide standardized family law forms like Florida or California. Many counties have their own local forms. DivorcePro documents your complete financial picture so any attorney can efficiently prepare the correct local court forms.
Texas's 60-Day Waiting Period
Texas imposes a 60-day waiting period from the date the Original Petition for Divorce is filed. The divorce cannot be granted before this period expires. There are narrow exceptions: if the petition alleges family violence, the waiting period may be waived.
An uncontested Texas divorce with cooperative parties typically takes 3–4 months. Contested cases with children, significant assets, or fault allegations routinely extend to 12–18 months.
Spousal Maintenance in Texas
Texas courts are conservative with spousal maintenance. It is only awarded if the obligor spouse was convicted of family violence within the past 2 years, or if the marriage lasted 10+ years and the requesting spouse lacks sufficient property to meet minimum reasonable needs. Even then, maintenance is capped at the lesser of $5,000/month or 20% of average gross monthly income, and is strictly limited in duration.