{"id":14906,"date":"2023-04-24T15:53:57","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T20:53:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gbfamilylaw.com\/?p=14906"},"modified":"2023-06-06T16:21:14","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T21:21:14","slug":"who-typically-gets-the-house-in-a-texas-divorce-and-what-to-do-if-you-want-to-keep-the-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gbfamilylaw.com\/blogs\/who-typically-gets-the-house-in-a-texas-divorce-and-what-to-do-if-you-want-to-keep-the-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Typically Gets the House in a Texas Divorce and What to do if You Want to Keep the House"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Who gets the house in a Texas divorce depends on whether the house is community property or separate property. In many divorces, the answer is “both of you,” but that’s not always the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Community Property?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Community property is any property you and your spouse acquired together during your marriage. In most cases, regardless of the name on the deed, a house is considered community property if you and\/or your spouse purchased it while you were married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Separate Property?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Separate property includes property you owned prior to marriage and any gifts you received while married, including inheritances. If you can prove that something is separate property, you keep it: It’s not subject to the division of assets<\/a> in the divorce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Keep Your House in a Texas Divorce if it’s Separate Property<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a Texas divorce, keeping the house if it’s separate property comes down to evidence. Without it, Texas law will presume that the house (and everything else you owned before filing for divorce) is community property. You’ll need documentation and a traceable paper trail to prove that the house is solely yours. Ideally, this documentation will outline the funds you used to purchase the property and show that the purchase either occurred before the marriage or during the marriage with separate property funds. A skilled divorce lawyer can assist you in gathering the necessary evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Gets the House in a Texas Divorce if it’s Community Property?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In most marriages, spouses purchase a house together, and if this is your situation, the house will be part of the pool of community property that needs to be divided up. That means that in a Texas divorce, who gets the house will depend on the agreement you can work out with your spouse or on a judge’s ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working out a deal with your spouse is the best approach for how to keep your house in a Texas divorce. This may require one spouse to compensate the other for their share of the value of the house, or you might balance out their lost equity with other assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a judge needs to step in and divide up your community property, they will consider factors including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n