SECTIONS FROM THE TEXAS FAMILY CODE
Tex. Family Code Sec. 3.001
A spouse's separate property consists of:
(1) the property owned or claimed by the spouse before marriage;
(2) the property acquired by the spouse during marriage by gift, devise, or descent; and
(3) the recovery for personal injuries sustained by the spouse during marriage, except any recovery for loss of earning capacity during marriage.
§ 3.002. Community Property
Community property consists of the property, other than separate property, acquired by either
spouse during marriage.
§ 3.003. Presumption of Community Property
(a) Property possessed by either spouse during or on dissolution of marriage is presumed to
be community property.
(b) The degree of proof necessary to establish that property is separate property is clear and
convincing evidence.
§ 3.410 Effect of Marital Property Agreements
A premarital or marital property agreement, whether executed before, on, or after September 1, 2009, that satisfies the requirements of Chapter 4 is effective to waive, release, assign, or partition a claim for economic contribution, reimbursement, or both, under this subchapter to the same extent the agreement would have been effective to waive, release, assign, or partition a claim for economic contribution, reimbursement, or both under the law as it existed immediately before September 1, 2009, unless the agreement provides otherwise.
Sec. 7.001. GENERAL RULE OF PROPERTY DIVISION.
In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court shall order a division of the estate of the parties in a manner that the court deems just and right, having due regard for the rights of each party and any children of the marriage.
Sec. 7.002. DIVISION AND DISPOSITION OF CERTAIN PROPERTY UNDER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
(a) In addition to the division of the estate of the parties required by Section 7.001, in a decree of divorce or annulment the court shall order a division of the following real and personal property, wherever situated, in a manner that the court deems just and right, having due regard for the rights of each party and any children of the marriage:
(1) property that was acquired by either spouse while domiciled in another state and that would have been community property if the spouse who acquired the property had been domiciled in this state at the time of the acquisition; or
(2) property that was acquired by either spouse in exchange for real or personal property and that would have been community property if the spouse who acquired the property so exchanged had been domiciled in this state at the time of its acquisition.
(b) In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court shall award to a spouse the following real and personal property, wherever situated, as the separate property of the spouse:
(1) property that was acquired by the spouse while domiciled in another state and that would have been the spouse's separate property if the spouse had been domiciled in this state at the time of acquisition; or
(2) property that was acquired by the spouse in exchange for real or personal property and that would have been the spouse's separate property if the spouse had been domiciled in this state at the time of acquisition.
(c) In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court shall confirm the following as the separate property of a spouse if partitioned or exchanged by written agreement of the spouses:
(1) income and earnings from the spouses' property, wages, salaries, and other forms of compensation received on or after January 1 of the year in which the suit for dissolution of marriage was filed; or
(2) income and earnings from the spouses' property, wages, salaries, and other forms of compensation received in another year during which the spouses were married for any part of the year.
Sec. 7.003. DISPOSITION OF RETIREMENT AND EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND OTHER PLANS.
In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court shall determine the rights of both spouses in a pension, retirement plan, annuity, individual retirement account, employee stock option plan, stock option, or other form of savings, bonus, profit-sharing, or other employer plan or financial plan of an employee or a participant, regardless of whether the person is self-employed, in the nature of compensation or savings.
Sec. 7.004. DISPOSITION OF RIGHTS IN INSURANCE.
In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court shall specifically divide or award the rights of each spouse in an insurance policy.
Sec. 7.005. INSURANCE COVERAGE NOT SPECIFICALLY AWARDED.
(a) If in a decree of divorce or annulment the court does not specifically award all of the rights of the spouses in an insurance policy other than life insurance in effect at the time the decree is rendered, the policy remains in effect until the policy expires according to the policy's own terms.
(b) The proceeds of a valid claim under the policy are payable as follows:
(1) if the interest in the property insured was awarded solely to one former spouse by the decree, to that former spouse;
(2) if an interest in the property insured was awarded to each former spouse, to those former spouses in proportion to the interests awarded; or
(3) if the insurance coverage is directly related to the person of one of the former spouses, to that former spouse.
(c) The failure of either former spouse to change the endorsement on the policy to reflect the distribution of proceeds established by this section does not relieve the insurer of liability to pay the proceeds or any other obligation on the policy.
(d) This section does not affect the right of a former spouse to assert an ownership interest in an undivided life insurance policy, as provided by Subchapter D, Chapter 9.
FAMILY CODE
TITLE 1. THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP
SUBTITLE C. DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE
CHAPTER 8. MAINTENANCE
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 8.001. DEFINITIONS.
In this chapter:
(1) "Maintenance" means an award in a suit for dissolution of a marriage of periodic payments from the future income of one spouse for the support of the other spouse.
(2) "Notice of application for a writ of withholding" means the document delivered to an obligor and filed with the court as required by this chapter for the nonjudicial determination of arrears and initiation of withholding for spousal maintenance.
(3) "Obligee" means a person entitled to receive payments under the terms of an order for spousal maintenance.
(4) "Obligor" means a person required to make periodic payments under the terms of an order for spousal maintenance.
(5) "Writ of withholding" means the document issued by the clerk of a court and delivered to an employer, directing that earnings be withheld for payment of spousal maintenance as provided by this chapter.
SUBCHAPTER B. SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE
Sec. 8.051. ELIGIBILITY FOR MAINTENANCE.
In a suit for dissolution of a marriage or in a proceeding for maintenance in a court with personal jurisdiction over both former spouses following the dissolution of their marriage by a court that lacked personal jurisdiction over an absent spouse, the court may order maintenance for either spouse only if the spouse seeking maintenance will lack sufficient property, including the spouse's separate property, on dissolution of the marriage to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs and:
(1) the spouse from whom maintenance is requested was convicted of or received deferred adjudication for a criminal offense that also constitutes an act of family violence, as defined by Section 71.004, committed during the marriage against the other spouse or the other spouse's child and the offense occurred:
(A) within two years before the date on which a suit for dissolution of the marriage is filed; or
(B) while the suit is pending; or
(2) the spouse seeking maintenance:
(A) is unable to earn sufficient income to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs because of an incapacitating physical or mental disability;
(B) has been married to the other spouse for 10 years or longer and lacks the ability to earn sufficient income to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs; or
(C) is the custodian of a child of the marriage of any age who requires substantial care and personal supervision because of a physical or mental disability that prevents the spouse from earning sufficient income to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs.
Sec. 8.052. FACTORS IN DETERMINING MAINTENANCE.
A court that determines that a spouse is eligible to receive maintenance under this chapter shall determine the nature, amount, duration, and manner of periodic payments by considering all relevant factors, including:
(1) each spouse's ability to provide for that spouse's minimum reasonable needs independently, considering that spouse's financial resources on dissolution of the marriage;
(2) the education and employment skills of the spouses, the time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the spouse seeking maintenance to earn sufficient income, and the availability and feasibility of that education or training;
(3) the duration of the marriage;
(4) the age, employment history, earning ability, and physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance;
(5) the effect on each spouse's ability to provide for that spouse's minimum reasonable needs while providing periodic child support payments or maintenance, if applicable;
(6) acts by either spouse resulting in excessive or abnormal expenditures or destruction, concealment, or fraudulent disposition of community property, joint tenancy, or other property held in common;
(7) the contribution by one spouse to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other spouse;
(8) the property brought to the marriage by either spouse;
(9) the contribution of a spouse as homemaker;
(10) marital misconduct, including adultery and cruel treatment, by either spouse during the marriage; and
(11) any history or pattern of family violence, as defined by Section 71.004.
Sec. 8.053. PRESUMPTION.
(a) It is a rebuttable presumption that maintenance under Section 8.051(2)(B) is not warranted unless the spouse seeking maintenance has exercised diligence in:
(1) earning sufficient income to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs; or
(2) developing the necessary skills to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs during a period of separation and during the time the suit for dissolution of the marriage is pending.
(b) Repealed by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 486, Sec. 9(1), eff. September 1, 2011.
Sec. 8.054. DURATION OF MAINTENANCE ORDER.
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a court:
(1) may not order maintenance that remains in effect for more than:
(A) five years after the date of the order, if:
(i) the spouses were married to each other for less than 10 years and the eligibility of the spouse for whom maintenance is ordered is established under Section 8.051(1); or
(ii) the spouses were married to each other for at least 10 years but not more than 20 years;
(B) seven years after the date of the order, if the spouses were married to each other for at least 20 years but not more than 30 years; or
(C) 10 years after the date of the order, if the spouses were married to each other for 30 years or more; and
(2) shall limit the duration of a maintenance order to the shortest reasonable period that allows the spouse seeking maintenance to earn sufficient income to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs, unless the ability of the spouse to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs is substantially or totally diminished because of:
(A) physical or mental disability of the spouse seeking maintenance;
(B) duties as the custodian of an infant or young child of the marriage; or
(C) another compelling impediment to earning sufficient income to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs.
(b) The court may order maintenance for a spouse to whom Section 8.051(2)(A) or (C) applies for as long as the spouse continues to satisfy the eligibility criteria prescribed by the applicable provision.
(c) On the request of either party or on the court's own motion, the court may order the periodic review of its order for maintenance under Subsection (b).
(d) The continuation of maintenance ordered under Subsection (b) is subject to the procedural requirements for a motion to modify as provided by Section 8.057.
Sec. 8.055. AMOUNT OF MAINTENANCE.
(a) A court may not order maintenance that requires an obligor to pay monthly more than the lesser of:
(1) $5,000; or
(2) 20 percent of the spouse's average monthly gross income.
(a-1) For purposes of this chapter, gross income:
(1) includes:
(A) 100 percent of all wage and salary income and other compensation for personal services (including commissions, overtime pay, tips, and bonuses);
(B) interest, dividends, and royalty income;
(C) self-employment income;
(D) net rental income (defined as rent after deducting operating expenses and mortgage payments, but not including noncash items such as depreciation); and
(E) all other income actually being received, including severance pay, retirement benefits, pensions, trust income, annuities, capital gains, unemployment benefits, interest income from notes regardless of the source, gifts and prizes, maintenance, and alimony; and
(2) does not include:
(A) return of principal or capital;
(B) accounts receivable;
(C) benefits paid in accordance with federal public assistance programs;
(D) benefits paid in accordance with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program;
(E) payments for foster care of a child;
(F) Department of Veterans Affairs service-connected disability compensation;
(G) supplemental security income (SSI), social security benefits, and disability benefits; or
(H) workers' compensation benefits.
Sec. 8.056. TERMINATION.
(a) The obligation to pay future maintenance terminates on the death of either party or on the remarriage of the obligee.
(b) After a hearing, the court shall order the termination of the maintenance obligation if the court finds that the obligee cohabits with another person with whom the obligee has a dating or romantic relationship in a permanent place of abode on a continuing basis.
(c) Termination of the maintenance obligation does not terminate the obligation to pay any maintenance that accrued before the date of termination, whether as a result of death or remarriage under Subsection (a) or a court order under Subsection (b).