Division of assets in a divorce

Division of assets in a divorce:

In determining the division of assets in a divorce, people must think logically. For people going through a divorce, other than dealing with typical issues such as broken hearts, lost trust, frustrations, confusion about the future, ruined plans, etc, couples must also somehow keep their composure among all these negative feelings and make logical decisions regarding finances. Although dealing with so many emotions and feelings is hard, it is imperative to keep in mind that you have big decisions to make that require clear logical reasoning, decisions that can have life-lasting impacts. As hard as it may be, you must remember to keep emotions separate from your logical reasoning before you dig yourself in a deep hole you can’t get out of.

In this article, I discuss community assets and debts division in a divorce and will follow it up with another article about how to get a disproportionate share of assets and/or debts.

How are assets typically divided in a divorce?

While many states have the equitable division doctrine when it comes to dividing assets and debts in a divorce, Texas applies the community property division doctrine.

In equitable factor doctrine states, the assets or debts in a divorce are divided as the court deems “fair and equitable.” In Texas, and other community property division states, the assets or debts are usually divided down the middle, 50/50, with some exceptions which will be discussed in a follow up article.

Reasoning behind the 2 different doctrines:

The splitting down the middle of debts and assets applied by Texas and a few other states, makes dealing with the case much more simplistic and avoids lengthy and costly litigation between the parties. However, this can also create feelings of injustice or unfairness received by one or both parties who feel they had more of an impact in accumulating the assets acquired during the marriage. For example, for a stay at home woman who has not worked during the marriage and does not have the skills to get a high paying job that meets her need post-divorce, she may feel that getting the same cut of the assets as her high income husband, would be unfair.

On the other hand, the equitable division doctrine considers a variety of different factors in determining the division of assets or debts in a divorce. Some factors include but are not limited to: future earning capacity of spouses, efforts in creating the community assets, future expenses for the spouse, spending lifestyle, etc. The issue with this approach is the amount of intense, exhausting, lengthy, and costly (among other things) litigation that could be involved.

 Contact Us:

If you are looking for a divorce attorney or are simply interested in division of assets in a divorce, or a potential divorce, call or email me, Amir Tavakkoli, Houston attorney from the A.T. Law Office. Our phone number is 832-800-5590 and the email is info@atlawoffice.com. We also travel to different counties including but not limited to Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Ford-Bend County, Waller County, and Brazoria. Contact the A.T. Law Office by calling (832) 800-5590 for a free consultation.