Frequently I receive a lot of questions regarding how to prove the character of a certain piece of property. Recall that community property in Texas is defined in the negative as all property acquired during the marriage except through gift, devise or descent. Thus, community property is pretty much every piece of property obtained during the marriage what wasn’t gifted or inherited to one particular spouse. Separate property is property that does not owe its existence to the marriage. Put another way, everything that is not community property is defined as separate property, including property which was owned prior to the marriage.
Continue Reading The Inception of Title Rule – A Primer.

Recently I had a potential client present the following scenario to me. Wife was involved in an at-fault car accident. Wife is sued by the other driver. Husband is concerned that the person his wife was in an accident with will go after “all” the property they own, even husband’s prized baseball card collection he had before marriage. The question then became, can they take my separate property for my wife’s negligence?
Continue Reading Question to Dallas Divorce Lawyer: My spouse got in a car wreck, can they take my separate property?

I recently came across an excellent article on the Wall Street Journal’s website entitled, How Divorce Affects Your Social Security (Or Not). As a Dallas divorce lawyer, I am frequently asked about post-divorce entitlement to social security benefits. From the outset, it should be noted that unlike most other areas of martial property law, benefits arising from the Social Security Act are preempted by Federal Law from being characterized as community property. Because of this preemption, we have to look to federal law to determine what affect divorce plays on social security benefits.
Continue Reading Am I still entitled to my ex’s social security benefits after our divorce?