Family Law Attorney in Porter

How Does the Division of Property Work in Texas?

The state of Texas follows the community property rule. This rule stipulates that all property and income acquired by either partner during a marriage belongs to both spouses equally. This also includes debts incurred by either spouse during the marriage. All of these will be divided equally in the event of divorce unless there are just and right reasons to do otherwise.

To protect an asset from property division in divorce, there needs to be clear and convincing evidence that the asset was acquired by a spouse before marriage and was kept separate during the marriage.

How Is Child Custody Decided?

Being one of the most contentious and critical aspects of the divorce process, the courts employ specific criteria when determining custody. But basically, all court decisions are made based on what is best for the child.

Here are some of the common factors that Texas courts consider:

• The relationship the child has with both parents
• The ability of each parent to provide a safe and stable environment for the child
• The child’s preference – if mature enough
• Any history of mental illness, domestic abuse, drug abuse, or any behavior that poses harm to the child
• The financial status of each parent
• How the decision will impact the child’s educational opportunities and social life
• Distance between each parent’s home
• The ability of each parent to provide a safe and stable environment for the child

What Is Alimony and How Is It Decided?

Texas law doesn’t provide for alimony as an entitlement in a divorce, however, it allows for the spousal support payments to be ordered in certain cases. Spousal support or maintenance is an award in a divorce that provides periodic payments to a less financially stable spouse from the future income of the other spouse to help meet their minimum reasonable needs.

The spouse requesting spousal support has to meet specific criteria to be eligible for spousal support.

The fundamental and most important requirement is that the spouse seeking support will be unable to meet their minimum reasonable needs without the other spouse.

In addition, one of the following requirements has to be met:

• The spouse from whom spousal support payments are being requested has been convicted of an act of family violence, and the act was committed during the marriage either two years before the date the divorce suit was filed or while the divorce was pending.

Or

• The spouse seeking spousal maintenance is not able to earn sufficient income to meet their basic needs because of an incapacitating disability (physical or mental).
• The spouse has been in a marital relationship with the other spouse for at least 10 years.
• The spouse is not able to earn enough income to provide for their minimum reasonable needs as a result of being the custodian of a child of the marriage who is in need of personal supervision and substantial care.

In Texas, the maximum awardable spousal maintenance amount is 20% of the more financially capable spouse’s monthly gross income or $5,000, whichever is less. How long the payments will be made will depend on a number of factors.

What Are the Grounds for Divorce in Texas?

As opposed to what Hollywood shows and celebrity news portrays, couples in Texas need sufficient ground to be granted a divorce. For a Texas court to grant you a divorce, you have to raise and prove at least one ground for divorce.

Texas family code offers the following 7 grounds for divorce:

• Living apart – To be granted a divorce under this ground, the couple must have lived apart without cohabitation for at least three years.
• Insupportability – To be eligible for divorce under this ground, it has to be proven that the marriage has become insupportable as a result of conflict and there is no reasonable expectation that the couple will get back together.
• Confinement in a mental hospital – You can also qualify for a divorce if your spouse has been confined in a private or state hospital for at least three years and the mental illness is such that an adjustment is unlikely, or if it happens a relapse is possible.
• Cruelty – If one spouse willfully causes pain and suffering to the other, and the treatment is so bad that living together is insupportable, then this can be a ground for divorce.
• Abandonment – To be granted a divorce on the ground of abandonment, it has to be proven that one spouse voluntarily left the spouse who raised the complaint and did so with the intention of abandonment; and stayed away for a minimum of one year.
• Adultery – Under Texas law, adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse between a spouse and someone who is not their husband or wife. For a divorce to be granted on this ground, there needs to be sufficient evidence to prove this.
• Felony criminal conviction – In the event that your spouse gets convicted of a felony crime; gets a minimum prison sentence of one year; and has not been pardoned, then you may be eligible for a divorce.