Dallas Family Law Blog

One of the central questions in almost every divorce in Texas is the division of the couple's property, both tangible and intangible. Texas is one of only nine states that use a "community property" system to answer this question.

The basic rule is fairly simple: Absent a valid and enforceable prenuptial agreement, community property is any asset that was acquired during the marriage. Community property is deemed to be owned by the spouses jointly, and each of them is entitled to share equitably in the marital estate. Property that is not community property is referred to as "separate property" and remains the property of the spouse who acquired it.

When going through a divorce, Texas residents certainly do not want to feel as if they got the short end of the stick. While most people are not ever fully satisfied with the entirety of their divorce settlements, you can take steps to ensure that you work toward an outcome that you feel is at least acceptable.

If your case involves business assets and other unusual pieces of property, you could have a more difficult time knowing what property division outcomes you should fight for. Because Texas is a community property state, laws regulate that marital property is any property obtained during the course of the marriage from either party, with some exceptions. As a result, it is important to know the value of that property.

Most residents of the Dallas area who are contemplating a marriage are also contemplating an extended period in which their lives will be disrupted by anger, stress and uncertainty. Judges and attorneys have been trying for years to modify the marriage dissolution process to eliminate as much of this unpleasantness as possible. First came so-called "no fault divorce," in which the court accept the allegations of one or both parties that the marriage relationship had foundered on irreconcilable differences. Then, courts began directing couples to use trained mediators to resolve their divorces. Texas attorneys are now using a process called "collaborative divorce" in a further effort to make the divorce process less stressful.

In 2001, the Texas legislature passed a bill authorizing the use of collaborative law techniques if both parties agreed to abide by those techniques. The collaborative process begins with the parties and their attorneys negotiating and signing a binding contract that obligates both spouses and the lawyers to make a good faith attempt to resolve the dissolution of the marriage without resorting to judicial intervention except for the final approval of the judgment as agreed to by the parties. The collaborative law agreement must include provisions for (1) full and complete disclosure of financial information, (2) suspending resort to court while the parties are using collaborative law procedures, (3) hiring experts to serve both sides, (4) the agreement of all lawyers to withdraw from the case if the collaborative procedure does not result in a mutually satisfactory agreement and (5) any other provisions that may be added by the parties if the provisions are consistent with the principles of collaborate law.

Divorce is difficult for many reasons, but it can be especially complicated for small business owners in Texas. If you own your own company, you know how hard you worked to build your business and find success over the years. The possibility of having to divide your hard-earned business assets or losing some of the control you have over your company can be overwhelming.

Business owners would be wise to take care to understand how divorce and the property division process will work for them. While it is certain that your divorce will impact your life in various ways, that does not have to mean that you will lose your business or have to give up operational control. Many factors will determine exactly what happens and what the future of your company will look like.