If you live in Texas and are planning a divorce, you must be wondering, “What is a wife entitled to in a divorce in Texas?” The answer is that Texas law gives wives equal privileges as given to males in case of a divorce. But what are those privileges? This article will help you understand your rights.
What is a wife entitled to in a divorce in Texas
Equal assets and properties
Texas is a community property state. The law gives wives an equal share of assets when they get divorced. According to the law, the properties and assets accumulated by the couple during the marriage are owned by both the husband and wife equally. It doesn’t matter if the wife holds a title to the properties; she would be entitled to get a share of the pie. But the wife doesn’t always get equal assets and properties. Sometimes, she would get less and sometimes more than the husband. The court splits assets and property based on the spouse’s income, children, etc.
Spousal Support and not Alimony
Texas law is against alimony, but it favors spousal support. This means that the husband doesn’t have a permanent requirement to spend on the wife when she is capable of maintaining herself. This is where the husband has to pay a sum to the wife periodically until the wife gets the job or she can maintain herself, explains Frank Vendt, a Texas divorce attorney.
Courts award spousal support under a few strictly watched circumstances. Some of them are as follows:
- First and foremost, the husband has been convicted of domestic violence against the wife or the children.
- The second mandatory condition assumes that the wife is disabled or is taking care of a disabled child.
Under the said circumstances, the wife will be provided with spousal support.
Retirement Benefits
Texas is a community property state. Under the community property, the wife will have equal rights to retirement benefits. The amount that has been sent and converted through the IRA or 401(H) at the time of marriage and the advantage that will be accruing to the amount will be sectioned equally by both parties, regardless of the fact he or she has done the contribution amount. Remember, even if the wife was the only person who contributed under IRA or 401(K), the husband would have equal rights to receive the amount accumulated under his or his wife’s IRA or 401(K).
The couple has two ways to divide the 401(K) amount: either they can patch it up through direct negotiation or decide on the division of the 401(K) amount only in a court of law. Either way, it is not going to be an easy job, so why not juncture a specialized attorney support?
Custody Rights
It is true that child custody is a very complex issue. Current Texas child custody falls into two categories. They are as follows:
- The first one is called joint managing conservatorship, under which both parents are authorized to stay with their children at equal intervals and share equal rights to advise and raise the children. While the child lives with one parent, the other parent can have an equal say in some upbringing issues.
- Along with joint managing conservatorship, there is also sole managing conservatorship.
The court makes the decision on what type of conservatorship will be granted. This decision is based on a few factors:
- The relationship between husband and wife.
- The financial situation of the parents.
- If a parent or parents have any history of abuse or neglect.
- The age of the child. Also, if any of the parents or children have psychological and physical needs.
After examining all these reasons and some others, the court will decide on custodial rights. Below is the detailed answer to the question of how to conduct an evaluation:
- First, it’s a joint interview of both parents. The next step is to examine each parent’s psychological, medical, and criminal backgrounds. Special attention needs to be given to any history of abuse or neglect.
- In addition to parents, there are other individuals who are close to a child, such as teachers, religious leaders, etc. They can also be interviewed.
- Moreover, children’s psychological and physical needs are evaluated.
After all this, the child custody counselor will recommend to the court what to do. Is it better for a child to live with his father or mother, or is it better for the child to interact frequently with both? The court will examine the recommendations and take the relevant steps.
Separate Property
According to the community property law, properties they acquired during the marriage should be fairly distributed between them. On the other hand, in separate property law, properties they acquired before the marriage should be awarded to the party who owns those properties. For instance, if the wife’s father has assigned a house to his daughter before the marriage, then the house solely belongs to the daughter. Her husband doesn’t get any share in that property.
Below is the list of assets the court may consider to be separate property:
- Gifts to one spouse and not the other spouse.
- Earned through inheritance left after a particular spouse and not the other.
However, an income-generating asset is community property. Therefore, if an asset is given to the husband before the marriage and the asset is capable of generating income, the wife can claim her share of that income.
In addition, in a Texas divorce, you carry all the baggage related to marital debt. This means the debts incurred by the husband and the wife are equally divided between them. For example, if a husband and wife incur credit card debt in their marriage, then the debt is marital debt, and both should ensure that they clear it.
However, if the debts were incurred by one person in their marriage, then the other spouse is not responsible for the them. For example, suppose the wife undertook a student loan before the marriage. In that case, she should ensure that she clears the debt after the divorce and her husband is not responsible.
Now, let’s explore the factors that the court considers when dividing assets and properties.
Factors influencing what is a wife entitled to in a divorce in Texas regarding Community Property Division
When the marriage is over, all community property assets, which have been properly classified, are subject to “just and right division” among the spouses. Texas courts assert that a “just and right” division of community assets does not always result in a 50/50 split. Instead of automatically halving assets, the courts in Texas will look at all of the facts. The following are the main Texas divorce property division factors:
Length of the marriage
In general, the longer the marriage, the stronger the case for supporting a spouse who has become dependent on the other.
The fault of either party
Divorce by fault includes adultery, abandonment, cruelty, or felony. A Texas court can divide property on one of these grounds. To do this, it will consider what the not-at-fault party would have expected if the marriage had continued.
The parties’ health
Illness-related expenditures, drug prices, and health insurance fees can all take a financial toll on a spouse. Furthermore, a spouse may have a disability or is unable to work at some or all types of work as a result of their medical problems.
Education and Earning Capacity of Each Party
Texas courts will also consider education and earning capacity when evaluating the parties’ relative earning capacity and employability. If a spouse has a professional degree and the other is a stay-at-home spouse with only a high school degree, the court can achieve justice by dividing property to compensate for differences in earning capacities.
Amount of Each Spouse’s Separate Property
Texas courts may consider each spouse’s separate property when distributing community property if one spouse is significantly more endowed with material wealth. Suppose a Texas court may award a wife with more community property if the husband owned $1 million in separate property and the community estate is only worth $500,000.
Read about whether your ex-wife can claim your pension years after divorce or not.
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