Executive Compensation
RSUs, options and deferred pay across the marital line.
Just and right is not equal
The court divides the community estate in the manner it deems just and right, with due regard for the rights of each party and any children of the marriage (Tex. Fam. Code § 7.001). Texas judges consider disparity in earning capacity and education, fault in the breakup, who has primary care of the children, health, age, the size of each spouse's separate estate, tax consequences, and wasting of community assets.
The practical consequence is that a spouse with a much lower earning capacity and primary custody may receive well over half, and a spouse who spent community money on an affair may receive well under it.
How This Plays Out in Practice
RSUs, options and deferred pay across the marital line. The specifics turn on facts — the length of the marriage, what is in the estate, whether children are involved, and how much the two of you still agree on. What does not change is the framework: Texas courts apply the Family Code, and the outcome follows from how your facts meet it.
Lisa G. Garza handles these matters from the firm's Dallas and McKinney offices, for families throughout North Texas.
Questions
What is separate property in Texas?
Under Texas Family Code § 3.001, separate property is property owned or claimed by a spouse before marriage, property acquired during marriage by gift, devise or descent, and recovery for personal injuries sustained during marriage except for lost earning capacity. A court cannot divest a spouse of separate property in a divorce.
How do I prove an asset is my separate property?
By tracing it back to its separate source with documentary evidence, to a clear and convincing standard. Texas Family Code § 3.003 presumes property possessed by either spouse during or on dissolution of marriage is community property. An asset kept in its own account is straightforward to trace; one commingled with community funds over years may not be traceable at all, in which case it is treated as community.
Is my spouse's retirement account part of the divorce?
The portion earned during the marriage is community property even if only one spouse's name is on the account. Dividing a qualified retirement plan generally requires a qualified domestic relations order entered along with the decree. Without that separate order, the plan administrator will not pay a share to the other spouse.
What happens to the house?
It depends on how the house is characterized and on what else is in the estate. Common outcomes are sale with the proceeds divided, one spouse buying out the other's interest, or one spouse keeping it. Where separate-property funds paid for a community home or community funds paid down a separate-property mortgage, a reimbursement claim may be owed between the estates.