Code § 4.102. Current with legislation from the 2023 Regular and Special Sessions signed by the Governor as of November 21, 2023. 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.
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.
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.
In short, yes, you should have an attorney to represent you in a postnuptial agreement for several reasons: To be sure you are treated fairly in the agreement. To have the agreement upheld, as a court is much more likely to say it is a valid contract if both parties were represented by counsel when they entered into it.
PARTITION. A joint owner or claimant of real property or an interest in real property or a joint owner of personal property may compel a partition of the interest or the property among the joint owners or claimants under this chapter and the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
A partition agreement does not have to be approved by the court as just and right. In addition to being in writing and signed by both parties, a partition agreement must either specifically reference “partition” or show the parties' intent to convert the property from community property to separate property.
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.
Legal and Practical Considerations: Legally, both spouses have an equal right to stay in the marital home unless a court decides otherwise. This is because, in Texas, a home bought during the marriage is considered community property, owned equally by both spouses.