It is very common for a couple to make improvements to their home during the course of their marriage. But what happens when one spouse uses separate property they received as an inheritance to make home improvements? Through careful review of the evidence your Woodlands divorce lawyer can increase your chance of winning or defending a claim for reimbursement as part of your Montgomery County divorce.

Alfred Baker was married in 1984. In 1996 he received an inheritance of $300,000 and placed it in separate accounts, not marital bank accounts. As we’ve discussed earlier, an inheritance received during the course of a marriage is separate property and not community property. With these funds, Alfred spent $104,000 to pay off the mortgage and $50,000 on home improvements. Unfortunately Alfred’s marriage broke down and his wife filed for divorce in 2006.

In divorce court, Alfred’s wife agreed that he spent $104,000 on the mortgage. Her divorce attorney disputed the $50,000 reimbursement for home improvement and the judge was left to decide the issue.

The divorce court judge Read more…

In the last post I went through the requirements for identifying certain property as “separate property” in your divorce case for Montgomery County or Houston. Here we will review the rules for identifying community property.

Community property is everything acquired during the marriage that is not properly identified as separate property. The Conroe and Houston Divorce Courts must presume that all property acquired during the marriage is community property unless either spouse can prove to the court by clear and convincing evidence that certain items are protected as separate property.

When Does This Presumption End? Read more…

Texas is a Community Property state. The Montgomery County Divorce Court and the Houston Divorce Court treat separate property and community property differently when it comes to dividing property as part of a divorce proceeding. So what exactly is “separate property?”

Separate property is: Read more…

Division of property is often a significant issue for families going through divorce in The Woodlands or Montgomery County. Each spouse wants to keep or obtain the property they believe they are entitled to. Texas is a community property state; however, it is possible to protect your separate property from becoming community property and being partially awarded to your future ex-spouse.

Any property on hand in a marriage is presumed to be community property. In order to rebut this presumption of community property, your Montgomery County Divorce Attorney must trace the property on hand during the marriage back to property that was separate (i.e. before the marriage) and continue up to the end of the marriage. This means the entire period from when you first obtained the property up to the date the divorce petition was filed. If you are successful, you can keep your separate property from becoming community property. If you fail, the Court may award significantly more of your separate property to your ex-spouse than he or she is entitled to.

How do you stop this from happening? Read more…