divorce in Texas who gets the house (Howe, Miles: hotel, lawyer)

[mpicaso]

Wife and I are about to get a divorce. Question here is we have been together since about 1999. I purchased a house in 2003 we married in 2010. The house is under my name only and I owe about 45,000 on it still. Is she entitled to the house? Or half?

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. We reside in Texas

[haudi]

It's considered community property from 2010 on, but your equity and whatever you contributed prior ( as long as you didn't commingle finances ) should be considered separate property. This is something a lawyer needs to handle, and not really a good question for an Internet forum. Lawyer up.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

First, 'sorry to hear about your divorce. As was mentioned, Texas being a community property state, you will owe half of all you have amassed since you were married, more if your other half can prove contributions even before you married.

Your other half is also entitled to half of your 401K, Airline Miles, Hotel Miles, etc. But, not the whole of anything. Hopefully you have a good attorney; depending on what you have in your 401K, and the value of the home, you may be better off trying to make a deal where she keeps the house, but does not touch your 401K. Good luck.

[theone33]

Women get better deals in divorces. Even if you paid for everything and they contributed to the marriage by sitting at home all day, they usually come out on top. I am sorry.

[KathrynAragon]

OP, sorry about your situation.

This is not legal advice and I am not an attorney (you need one), but here's how I understand it to work in Texas.

You bought the house in 2003. Any amount of money that you put down as equity at that time should go to you. Also any that you paid toward the principle during the time between 2003 and when you married in 2010 should go to you.

Your wife will probably get half of what was paid toward the principle from 2010 to the time of the divorce. She will also get half of the appreciation that occurred between 2010 and the time of the divorce. For instance, say you updated the kitchen after 2010 and the house value went up by $20,000 - she will probably get $10,000 of that appreciation.

Or something like that. In other words, she will probably be entitled to half of the appreciation from 2010 till now.

If you want to keep the house, you will probably need to make a lump sum payment to her and give her a quit claim deed.

No one automatically gets the house in Texas, unless the house is clearly separate property. It doesn't sound like yours is clearly separate property since you've both been living in it for five years. But I doubt very seriously that any court is going to "give her" the house. That's just not the way it works here.

[DSL_PWR]

Hire a damn good attorney and leave her with nothing!

[Meyerland]

Originally Posted by theone33

Women get better deals in divorces. Even if you paid for everything and they contributed to the marriage by sitting at home all day, they usually come out on top. I am sorry.

Some women get better deals in divorce and some men get better deals in divorces. Some divorces are extremely amicable and about even. You can't make broad sweeping generalizations about divorce.

OP-get a good attorney. That is the best way to protect yourself. You can't predict how your ex spouse will react. I have seen some men and women flip out and go for the jugular. I have also seen very amicable divorces. Hope you have a fairly peaceful one. Good luck!

[theone33]

The odds are in favor of women during divorces and you know that. Use a pre nup if you walk down the aisle again! Trust me.

[oceangaia]

Keep in mind that Texas recognizes common-law marriages. You may have formalized it in 2010 but she may argue that it had been established much earlier. For example, if you were living together as husband and wife (joint accounts, etc.) prior to your purchase of the house in 2003 then it may be deemed a 100% community asset. Also, spousal support (alimony) kicks in at 10 years so this is an important point.

In Texas, both of you will be required to attend mediation to attempt to reach a legally binding agreement on matters such as division of assets, spousal maintenance, child support, custody and visitation, etc. If you can't reach an agreement and a judge has to decide, chances are neither of you will like his decision. In a community property state the assets are to be divided equitably. Equitable is not the same as equal. However, a "disproportionate" share of assets is something like 60-40. These horror stories you hear of one spouse getting everything or most of it are rare exceptions in extreme circumstances.

[PinkLadyK]

Originally Posted by theone33

The odds are in favor of women during divorces and you know that. Use a pre nup if you walk down the aisle again! Trust me.

When it comes to custody of the children, sure. But a married woman with no income or paid employment didn't get that way on her own.

OP, put nothing in writing. Angry text messages and emails can be your downfall. Get an attorney right away. Hope things get better for you.