CHAPTER 7. AWARD OF MARITAL PROPERTY
FAMILY CODE
TITLE 1. THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP
SUBTITLE C. DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE
CHAPTER 7. AWARD OF MARITAL PROPERTY
Sec. 7.001. GENERAL RULE OF PROPERTY DIVISION. In a decree of
divorce or annulment, the court shall order a division of the
estate of the parties in a manner that the court deems just and
right, having due regard for the rights of each party and any
children of the marriage.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17,
1997.
Sec. 7.002. DIVISION AND DISPOSITION OF CERTAIN PROPERTY UNDER
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES. (a) In addition to the division of the
estate of the parties required by Section 7.001, in a decree of
divorce or annulment the court shall order a division of the
following real and personal property, wherever situated, in a
manner that the court deems just and right, having due regard for
the rights of each party and any children of the marriage:
(1) property that was acquired by either spouse while domiciled
in another state and that would have been community property if
the spouse who acquired the property had been domiciled in this
state at the time of the acquisition; or
(2) property that was acquired by either spouse in exchange for
real or personal property and that would have been community
property if the spouse who acquired the property so exchanged had
been domiciled in this state at the time of its acquisition.
(b) In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court shall award
to a spouse the following real and personal property, wherever
situated, as the separate property of the spouse:
(1) property that was acquired by the spouse while domiciled in
another state and that would have been the spouse's separate
property if the spouse had been domiciled in this state at the
time of acquisition; or
(2) property that was acquired by the spouse in exchange for
real or personal property and that would have been the spouse's
separate property if the spouse had been domiciled in this state
at the time of acquisition.
(c) In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court shall confirm
the following as the separate property of a spouse if partitioned
or exchanged by written agreement of the spouses:
(1) income and earnings from the spouses' property, wages,
salaries, and other forms of compensation received on or after
January 1 of the year in which the suit for dissolution of
marriage was filed; or
(2) income and earnings from the spouses' property, wages,
salaries, and other forms of compensation received in another
year during which the spouses were married for any part of the
year.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17,
1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 692, Sec. 4, eff.
Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 838, Sec. 4, eff. Sept.
1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 230, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1,
2003.
Sec. 7.003. DISPOSITION OF RETIREMENT AND EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
AND OTHER PLANS. In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court
shall determine the rights of both spouses in a pension,
retirement plan, annuity, individual retirement account, employee
stock option plan, stock option, or other form of savings, bonus,
profit-sharing, or other employer plan or financial plan of an
employee or a participant, regardless of whether the person is
self-employed, in the nature of compensation or savings.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17,
1997.
Sec. 7.004. DISPOSITION OF RIGHTS IN INSURANCE. In a decree of
divorce or annulment, the court shall specifically divide or
award the rights of each spouse in an insurance policy.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17,
1997.
Sec. 7.005. INSURANCE COVERAGE NOT SPECIFICALLY AWARDED. (a)
If in a decree of divorce or annulment the court does not
specifically award all of the rights of the spouses in an
insurance policy other than life insurance in effect at the time
the decree is rendered, the policy remains in effect until the
policy expires according to the policy's own terms.
(b) The proceeds of a valid claim under the policy are payable
as follows:
(1) if the interest in the property insured was awarded solely
to one former spouse by the decree, to that former spouse;
(2) if an interest in the property insured was awarded to each
former spouse, to those former spouses in proportion to the
interests awarded; or
(3) if the insurance coverage is directly related to the person
of one of the former spouses, to that former spouse.
(c) The failure of either former spouse to change the
endorsement on the policy to reflect the distribution of proceeds
established by this section does not relieve the insurer of
liability to pay the proceeds or any other obligation on the
policy.
(d) This section does not affect the right of a former spouse to
assert an ownership interest in an undivided life insurance
policy, as provided by Subchapter D, Chapter 9.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17,
1997.
Sec. 7.006. AGREEMENT INCIDENT TO DIVORCE OR ANNULMENT. (a) To
promote amicable settlement of disputes in a suit for divorce or
annulment, the spouses may enter into a written agreement
concerning the division of the property and the liabilities of
the spouses and maintenance of either spouse. The agreement may
be revised or repudiated before rendition of the divorce or
annulment unless the agreement is binding under another rule of
law.
(b) If the court finds that the terms of the written agreement
in a divorce or annulment are just and right, those terms are
binding on the court. If the court approves the agreement, the
court may set forth the agreement in full or incorporate the
agreement by reference in the final decree.
(c) If the court finds that the terms of the written agreement
in a divorce or annulment are not just and right, the court may
request the spouses to submit a revised agreement or may set the
case for a contested hearing.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17,
1997.
Sec. 7.007. DISPOSITION OF CLAIM FOR REIMBURSEMENT. In a
decree of divorce or annulment, the court shall determine the
rights of both spouses in a claim for reimbursement as provided
by Subchapter E, Chapter 3, and shall apply equitable principles
to:
(1) determine whether to recognize the claim after taking into
account all the relative circumstances of the spouses; and
(2) order a division of the claim for reimbursement, if
appropriate, in a manner that the court considers just and right,
having due regard for the rights of each party and any children
of the marriage.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 838, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
Amended by:
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
768, Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 7.008. CONSIDERATION OF TAXES. In ordering the division of
the estate of the parties to a suit for dissolution of a
marriage, the court may consider:
(1) whether a specific asset will be subject to taxation; and
(2) if the asset will be subject to taxation, when the tax will
be required to be paid.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
168, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.