Will The Court Award My Spouse More in the Divorce?

When dividing the community assets in a divorce case, it is commonly misunderstood that the court is trying to do a 50/50 split of the assets. Texas family courts do not endeavor to split the marital assets on an equal basis. Instead, Texas divorce courts will try to determine what is a ‘just and right division’ of the marital assets.

A “just and right division” has a broad interpretation and many factors are considered when making this determination. Some of the factors considered when determining a “just and right division” include:

• length of the marriage,
• fault in the breakup of the marriage,
• separate property owned by the parties, if any
• ability to earn income
• age and health of the parties
• which spouse has done more in the raising of the children
• the particular needs of each spouse
• whether the assets are secured by debts
• benefits the party not at fault for the breakup of the marriage would have received had the marriage stayed together

By no means is this an exhaustive list of factors. The judge or the jury has broad leeway to divide the marital assets in a way it determines to be fair and equitable based on the circumstances of the parties and the case.