Everything acquired during a marriage is community property unless a spouse can prove (or the spouses agree) that it is separate property. Separate property is property owned before marriage, or acquired during the marriage as a gift, through inheritance, or as part of a personal injury settlement.
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.
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.
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.
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. It is also possible to file a “friendly” partition action if the parties desire a court decree that ratifies their agreement.
Texas law allows spouses wide latitude in drafting their property agreements. After a marriage, spouses may change community property to separate property and vice-versa.
The exceptions to community property are funds or things that are: Owned by one spouse before the date of marriage. Inherited by one spouse before, during or after the marriage. Gifted to one spouse. Property purchased with separate funds during the marriage.
Texas Laws on Community Debt In many community property jurisdictions, debts incurred during the marriage are presumed to be the joint responsibility of both spouses.
A partition agreement divides, or partitions, a married couple's community estate into two separate estates. It is sometimes called a post-nuptial or post-marital agreement and is similar to a prenuptial agreement, except that it is executed by a married couple.