A texas marital property agreement helps secure your home if your spouse dies. When entering into a marriage or partition agreement, both parties are usually concerned about protecting their property in the event of marriage breakdown. Many people don`t know that marriage contracts can protect their property even in the event of death. Such provisions can actually affect the future financial situation of the surviving husband or wife. The same law generally applies to the performance of property contracts before and after marriage. To learn more about prenuptial agreements, click here. Texas law favors the enforcement of these agreements, and they are very difficult to challenge. However, if the parties are already married to each other, the law may impose higher obligations on a spouse (as opposed to people who are not yet married). Before entering into a post-marriage property contract, a spouse must understand the obligations to disclose property information that may be imposed on a spouse. Full disclosure of all assets and liabilities is a key factor in making these agreements enforceable against the other spouse. The Texas Family Code governs three types of matrimonial contracts: The decision to enter into a contract of ownership is important. The main purpose of property contracts is to define or modify property rights. There are special considerations for property contracts signed during the marriage.
Once a marriage already exists, a property agreement can waive rights to community property that have arisen over many years of marriage. Some of the reasons we see for entering into a post-marriage property agreement may be: If you both live in a home that belongs as separate property from the spouse who continues with our standard Texas matrimonial property agreement, the surviving spouse has the right to live in that home for the rest of their lives. Our standard prenuptial agreements state that the surviving spouse is responsible for all costs associated with living in the home, including mortgage payments, utilities, taxes, etc. Life insurance can also help cover these costs. Of course, if the surviving spouse receives the house through the other`s will, then none of this matters. The surviving spouse will simply own the house. If the spouse wants to pass the house on to someone else, the surviving spouse can live there in Texas for the rest of their life on our standard marriage contract. This right to live in the house for a person`s life is called a « realm of life. » If the debt is based on a contract (credit card, mortgage, college loan, etc.), the separate property of the spouse who owes the debt and community property held in the name of both spouses (e.g., B a joint account) are responsible for the debt. A joint asset account held exclusively in the name of the other spouse is not liable for the debt.
In this area of law, the details matter, not only in the preparation of the contract, but also in how the parties handle their finances and assets after the conclusion of the contract. The experienced lawyers at Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson can help you create a well-designed document and provide you with helpful tips on how to live your financial life so that the deal matters when it really matters. Texas case law has concluded that once a share of ownership is transferred to a spouse under a division and exchange agreement, it becomes the separate property of that spouse. As for formalities, a division or exchange agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties, and no consideration is required for it to be enforceable. A division or exchange agreement is unenforceable if the party against whom enforcement is sought proves that: If the liability is based on damage to a person or property caused by one of the spouses, the separate property of the spouse who caused the damage and all the joint property of the spouses, including accounts exclusively in the name of the other spouse, is responsible for guilt. Separated property from the other spouse is not liable for the debt. The conclusion of a marriage legally affects the property rights of a spouse. Many married couples plan to enter into a matrimonial contract during their marriage in order to define their property rights in the event of death or divorce. Our NMSB lawyers can advise you on the pros and cons of such a contract. The decision to sign a real estate contract is important. » Refund: A house or car purchased before the wedding is a separate property. However, if, after marriage, mortgage payments or car payments on separate property were made with community funds, the non-possessive spouse may request reimbursement of the money spent to pay for the other spouse`s separate property.
Here is a summary of the general rules for separate and communal ownership. Call Galligan & Manning at (713) 522-9220 to schedule a free consultation to learn more about how rules can be changed by a marital or conjugal marriage contract. When the spouses decide to divide their community property and separate the property, an agreement called a division and exchange agreement is signed. This may apply to all or part of the community`s property. Some couples choose to do so when a party enters a risky business or has a business that is intrinsically associated with the risk of lawsuits. In this case, they may want to set aside certain assets as separate assets from the other spouse, hoping that they will never be the subject of claims against the other spouse. Other couples choose to do this as an alternative to divorce. They divide their marital property and separate financially, even if they remain married. A division of matrimonial property is an agreement between spouses that allows them to convert community property into separate property from one of the spouses. This agreement must be concluded after the couple`s marriage. There are situations where the initial payment for property can be made before marriage, while subsequent payments are made after marriage with community property.
For example, it is common for engaged couples to buy a house before marriage. Or a spouse owns a house that will be the couple`s residence after the marriage. Then, after marriage, mortgage payments are made from their wages, which would be property of the community. There are two sets of rules, depending on whether the guilt is based on a contract or whether liability for the harm to a person or property (p.B a car accident) exists. There is a presumption that the property of a married person is common property. This presumption can be rebutted by a matrimonial contract if the property can be traced back to the time before the mixing to demonstrate that the property was separate. However, this can sometimes be difficult to prove, for example. B in the case of an investment account that is part of a dividend reinvestment program. Dividends would be considered community property and, if reinvested in the separate real estate account, could lead to the assumption that a separate property is community property. Both spouses are liable for the debts and liabilities of the marriage, regardless of the spouse who founded it or the name on the title or note. A car purchased on credit during the wedding is the property of the community.
A divorce court can give the car (and the balance due) to one spouse, but does not have the power to remove the name of the other spouse from the contract that caused the debt. The creditor can always turn to the other spouse to receive payment. The same applies to credit card contracts, mortgage contracts and other debts. If your spouse opened an account using your information without your knowledge or consent, this may be considered fraud or identity theft. Unless amended by a will or other document that takes effect on death, the joint property of a deceased spouse is transferred to a surviving spouse only if there are no children or if the surviving spouse is the parent of the children of the deceased spouse. Only a portion of the separated property of a deceased spouse is transferred to a surviving spouse. If the community property is used to pay off the mortgage, each spouse would be entitled to a repayment of half of the amount used for the majority of the mortgage. This would not include any part in increasing the value of the property at the time of sale; but only half of the amount of most of the mortgage that was actually paid during the marriage.
Remember that Texas law only defines ownership of the property. You have the right to change the rules by agreement, and you also have the right to give your property during your lifetime or death to whomever you want, including your spouse, even if the property is your separate property. The spouses may at any time choose to conclude a transfer agreement on their part of Community law by means of a partition agreement. .
