Understanding Your Rights: What You and Your Spouse Are Entitled to During a Texas Divorce

During a Texas divorce, spouses should be aware of their entitlements. A knowledgeable attorney can help individuals understand and protect their rights throughout the process to ensure they are eventually happy with the results of their settlement terms.

Divorce doesn’t simply involve dissolving a relationship; it also involves knowing and preserving one’s rights when it comes to financial, familial, and other matters. That is why finding legal assistance is such a fundamental part of the process.

One’s entitlement is determined by their ability to negotiate.

Divorce is complicated and can be a long and complicated negotiation process. Many factors come into play when negotiating a divorce such as assets, debt, alimony, custody, and child support payments. This means that when it comes to entitlements in a divorce both parties within the marriage must agree upon what each should receive. Each party is then entitled to whatever they are able to negotiate for. That being said, an attorney can generally advise based on standards expected for settlements and provide assistance on how to accomplish this efficiently.

Whether you’re pursuing a settlement outside of court, or through litigation your lawyer will help you determine what items you want out of the negotiations and work with the other side to make sure that those objectives are met. When looking at entitlements people must consider what they really need versus what they may actually be entitled to since this could drastically vary depending on individual circumstances. Negotiations do take time and money but ultimately if everyone keeps their goals realistic then positive outcomes can result from such negotiations.

Children are Important

Children are always an important consideration in divorce proceedings and must be given due consideration in any final ruling. In Texas, both parents have the right to actively engage their child in their life, regardless of whatever other circumstances may arise from the divorce. This can involve issues such as where they live, how often they visit each parent, and who is ultimately making major decisions regarding their education and medical care. In addition, unless the parties agree otherwise, both parents also have a financial obligation to continue supporting their child financially via child support payments even if one parent isn’t living with the child full-time.

Attorneys are always mindful of these matters because although it is not possible for any legal agreement to fully capture the intangible nature of parenting and its importance to both children and parents alike, it should still come very close in most cases. Above all else, the court will seek to ensure that the best interests of the children are taken into account when issuing its final decree or order concerning parenting time and support arrangements.

Property and Debts

Property and debt division is a major issue that needs to be addressed during a Texas divorce. In order to identify these items, your lawyer might request that you fill out an inventory and appraisement document which details all of the spouses’ assets and debts. This document will provide an overview of all property and debts so that the court can understand the extent of all financial obligations. Once this information is gathered, it’s important to establish what type of property it is and who owns it according to “community” state law in Texas.

Community property refers to any assets or debts acquired by both members during the marriage. These items usually include real estate, investments, debts such as mortgages, loans, or credit cards, and personal property like furniture or vehicles. Any separate property from before the marriage, as well as inheritances and gifts, is generally considered separate from marital community property. Therefore each spouse retains their rights for any specific ownership interests for these items regardless of divorced or not. By legally distinguishing between marital community property and individual belongings, couples can divide these items fairly before tying up legal struggles from the divorce case itself.

Community Property and Separate Property

Community property in Texas refers to all property acquired during the marriage, excluding gifts, inheritances, and personal property owned prior to the union. During a divorce in Texas, the court is responsible for dividing up all marital property or community property between each spouse. The court cannot divide separate property; meaning if any spouse owns separate property then it will remain their own and will not be divided by the court.

It is especially important to identify whether or not certain items that used to belong to one spouse are now marital or community property. In many cases, things like cars or homes must be determined by usage and intent for them to be considered community property that can later be divided. Generally, if both spouses pay into it together but especially if they contribute jointly within the marriage then chances are it is going to qualify as community property that is subject to division when it comes time for a divorce.

Talk to a Lawyer

An experienced divorce attorney in Harris County, Galveston County, Fort Bend County, Montgomery County, Brazoria County, Houston, Sugar Land, Missouri City, and Stafford, Texas at Thornton Esquire Law Group, PLLC, can provide guidance and offer advice throughout the entire process.Contact ustoday at www.thorntonesquirelawgroup.com for a free consultation.