Remember the game “Telephone?” You sat in a circle and the first person whispered a phrase to the person next them and they whispered it to the next person and so on. The last person announced the phrase and it was never even close to the original!*
In the legal world, when people share their divorce stories, it becomes like an grown-up version of Telephone and what starts out as accurate becomes a myth.
One myth we often hear is that property is split 50-50 in a Texas divorce because Texas is a community property state. “Community property” means almost all property acquired during a marriage belongs to the couple and is divided upon divorce.
But, an even split of the property during a divorce is not required. The standard that judges use to divide property is what is “just and right, having due regard for the rights of each party and any children of the marriage.” Texas Family Code Section 7.002.
Some of the factors that go to an uneven division of property include the ability of each spouse to earn a living, fault in the divorce, education, physical health, age, and nature of the property at issue. The courts have a lot of discretion when dividing property during a divorce if the parties cannot agree.
Make sure your lawyer will fight to get what is just and right for your family. Call us at 469.676.6644 or drop an email to info@taggartfirm.com so see if we can help.
*Maybe the 21st-century version of Telephone would be Textaphone – I’ll text you a message and you retype and send it to the next person, and so on. Someone should give it a try!
Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash
