A piece of real estate that is acquired prior to the marriage is pretty easy to prove as separate property. You simply show when you got the title. If it was prior to marriage, it's your separate property.
There is a somewhat common misconception that in all Texas divorce cases community property will be divided between the spouses equally, or “50/50.” However, the legal standard for dividing community property in Texas is not 50/50.
Property acquired during the marriage (outside of the noted exceptions) is considered community property. The spouses can, however, agree to convert (or “transmute”) community property into separate property. In Texas, this is done via a written agreement establishing a partition or exchange between the parties.
Even if only one spouse's name is on the deed, any property bought during the marriage is presumed to be community property, unless it was bought with separate property funds. The spouse claiming it as separate property must prove it in court.
4.102. PARTITION OR EXCHANGE OF COMMUNITY PROPERTY. At any time, the spouses may partition or exchange between themselves all or part of their community property, then existing or to be acquired, as the spouses may desire.
Every co-owner of an interest in the property (no matter how small) must agree in order for a voluntary partition to occur. The remedy when agreement cannot be reached is for one or more of the co-owners to seek a court-ordered division by means of a partition suit.
Texas presumes property acquired during marriage is community property, but exceptions exist for separate property owned before marriage or received as gifts. Inheritances remain separate property if not commingled with community assets. Keep inheritances in a separate account to maintain their status.
Under Texas law, spouses can enter into partition or exchange agreements in which one spouse transfers all or part of their present or soon-to-be-acquired community property to the other, thereby transmuting it into the separate property of the receiving spouse.
To win a partition action can take anywhere from a couple of months to reach a settlement agreement to a year or more if it goes to a court trial.