Texas Property Division

Protect Your Property and Financial Future

Marriage is more than an emotional partnership, it’s a financial one. As you part ways, we provide clarity and guidance to protect your property, prevent costly mistakes and secure present and future financial interests.

When you divorce, you might expect that all marital property will be divided equally. However, depending on the situation, a couple – or a court – might decide one party is due a greater or lesser portion of the property. As this can have a long-term effect on your finances, it’s important to make sure you receive everything within your rights.

With over 40 years of experience supporting Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Granbury, Midland, and Plano families with complex property divisions, Goranson Bain Ausley’s lawyers specializing in divorce and property division can help you assess what counts as marital property and how it should be divided. Leveraging deep family and business finance understanding, our attorneys work with you to characterize your property so that you have a precise picture of what’s included in your marital estate. This puts you in a position to make sound decisions, clear plans, and move forward with confidence.

When necessary, a property division attorney at our Texas law firm will consult with trusted forensic accountants, business valuation experts, and other financial consultants. Together, we determine which assets are considered community property, the effect of capital appreciation and income growth of previously-held assets over the course of the marriage, and the fair market value of assets. This is an important step in the most complex property division process because an inaccurate estimate can be costly down the road.

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If you are looking for a trusted property division lawyer, we are here to help. Please get in touch with us by completing the form below.

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Contacting GBA through this website does not establish an attorney-client relationship between you and GBA.

Our duties to our current and former clients require that we observe certain formalities before agreeing to represent anyone in a new matter. Before undertaking a new matter, our duties to current and former clients require us to determine whether there is any actual or potential conflict of interest that would preclude us from accepting the new matter. No attorney-client relationship can or will be established between you and GBA until GBA has determined that no conflict of interest exists between you and any of its current and former clients. Prior to the establishment of a formal attorney-client relationship, you should not send or disclose any confidential information to anyone at GBA by letter, fax, telephone, or email as any information received from you by GBA prior to that time will not be considered confidential or privileged and will not be protected from disclosure.

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Divorce for Business Owners

With higher net-worth families, it’s common for holdings to be tied up in business ownership. Applying the same level of strategic planning to preparing for divorce as you do in operating your business can help avoid many key problems. Our lawyers have more than 40 years of experience in helping protect your business.
Complex Property

Complex property matters include marital assets that require special expertise and effort. This can include closely held business interests, trusts, stock options, real property, and more. Our property division lawyers have represented clients with complex property division issues throughout Texas.
Dividing the Marital Home

Whether one spouse owned the home prior to the marriage or the couple acquired the home during the marriage, obtaining the value of the residence is an essential step in the division process. If you are interested in how the process might unfold, contact one of our experienced attorneys today.
Business Valuation in Divorce

Valuing a closely-held business requires a thorough knowledge of the measures of value, the methods of valuation, and Texas case law. An expert appraiser is essential to this process, as is an attorney with experience in addressing the division of a closely-held business and assessing the likely outcomes at trial.
Characterization of Separate and Community Property

Identifying which assets are separate or community property is particularly important because the court can only divide community property. If a spouse proves that certain assets are his or her separate property, those assets go off the table when talking about division. We help clients determine the community property estate and prove their separate property interests.

Your Unique Situation

Marital Property Division Resources

For more in-depth information about marital property division in Texas, please review the following articles by our Goranson Bain Ausley attorneys:

Divorce and Property Division

A couple that has been married and built a life together for any amount of years is likely to have acquired a mixture of different kinds of assets and debts during that time. Some of these assets are easily convertible to liquid or near-liquid form.

The higher the net worth of the family, the more likely it is that holdings are tied up in things such as business ownership, real estate, trusts, investment portfolios, retirement funds, pensions, and other vehicles that are difficult to value, liquidate, and divide equitably.

In instances like these, spouses can find themselves having fundamental disagreements not only over who is entitled to what, but also over how to actually go about the process of dividing the various assets that they have accumulated.

How Does Property Division Work in Texas?

Texas is a community property state. Property acquired before marriage or property gifted or inherited during the marriage to one spouse is the separate property of that spouse. Once the property is proven to be separate property, the court must confirm its ownership to that spouse. According to state law, property includes the following:

Real Estate
Boats, cars, jet skis, and other recreational vehicles
Brokerage accounts
Financial accounts
Intellectual property
Family businesses
Trust assets
Partnership interests
Stock in closely held corporate entities
Retirement accounts
Annuities
Life Insurance policies
Pensions
Securities
Personal belongings
Jewelry

If you have a prenuptial or premarital agreement, the decision about how to divide your mutually earned assets might already be determined. If this is the case, you will need to review the document with legal counsel to determine whether the agreement is valid.

A prenuptial agreement is helpful, but the paperwork in no way exempts you from any responsibilities associated with the divorce proceedings. It is important to review the agreement as well as an updated list of your assets, taking into consideration they may have grown in value since the time your prenuptial agreement was drafted.

Providing Support to Families in Texas for Over 40 Years

Our divorce and property division lawyers have represented clients with complex asset division issues throughout Texas. We help clients navigate their way through such areas as:

Pension plans and retirement accounts
Stock options and restricted stocks
Business valuation matters
Characterizing assets
Marriage debt
Real property
Deferred compensation plans
Intellectual property
Treatment of trusts in divorce
Tracing hidden or undeclared assets
Wasting of community assets

When necessary, our property division attorneys consult with forensic accountants, business valuation experts, and other financial consultants to determine which assets are considered community property, which assets are considered separate property, and the fair market value of those assets. Contact Goranson Bain Ausley for help when you have complex property issues.

Work with an Experienced Property Division Lawyer in Texas

You can make the best decisions for your family from start to finish with the support of a divorce lawyer in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Granbury, Midland, or Plano who has deep knowledge of complex property division and exclusively focuses on divorce and family law in Texas.

Angelica Rolong Cormier

Jack Wall

Rob Frazer

Sarah Aminzadeh Milinsky

Kelly Caperton Fischer

Curtis W. Harrison

Kathryn J. Murphy

Andrew Tisdale

Rachel Rizzieri Feist

Chandler Rice Winslow