Dallas, Dallas County
Dallas Property Division Attorney
Dividing a Texas marital estate is two jobs in sequence: decide what is in the estate, then decide who gets it. Most of the money is won or lost in the first one.
Property Division in Dallas
Property division for Dallas families usually turns on the home and the retirement accounts, in that order. Where a residence was bought before the marriage or with inherited funds, the characterization work (Tex. Fam. Code § 3.001) has to happen before anyone argues about percentages.
Because Dallas is a large, economically mixed city with the busiest family docket in North Texas, marital estates here more often include an employer equity plan, a closely held business interest, or a second property. Each of those has to be valued before it can be divided just and right (Tex. Fam. Code § 7.001), and valuation is where the timeline of a Dallas County case usually goes.
Characterization comes before division
A Texas court divides community property. It has no authority to divest a spouse of separate property. So the threshold question on every asset is what it is — community (Tex. Fam. Code § 3.002) or separate (Tex. Fam. Code § 3.001).
The presumption favors community, and it is rebuttable only by clear and convincing evidence. That standard is why characterization is a documents case. The house you bought before the marriage is separate; the community's payments against its mortgage during the marriage may create a reimbursement claim. The brokerage account you brought in is separate until deposits and withdrawals mix it so thoroughly that tracing fails, at which point the whole account is treated as community.
Just and right is not equal
The court divides the community estate in the manner it deems just and right, with due regard for the rights of each party and any children of the marriage (Tex. Fam. Code § 7.001). Texas judges consider disparity in earning capacity and education, fault in the breakup, who has primary care of the children, health, age, the size of each spouse's separate estate, tax consequences, and wasting of community assets.
The practical consequence is that a spouse with a much lower earning capacity and primary custody may receive well over half, and a spouse who spent community money on an affair may receive well under it.
More on property division for Dallas specifically is at Dallas Property Division.
Questions
Where is a Dallas divorce case filed?
In Dallas County. Texas Family Code § 6.301 requires that at the time of filing, one spouse have been a domiciliary of Texas for the preceding six months and a resident of the county of filing for the preceding 90 days. The Dallas County courthouse is located at George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building, 600 Commerce St., Dallas, TX 75202.
Do I have to live in Dallas to file there?
You have to meet the county residency requirement for Dallas County, not for the city itself. Under Texas Family Code § 6.301 that means 90 days of residency in the county before filing, in addition to six months of domicile in Texas. Neighbouring cities in the same county satisfy it equally.
How does the Dallas ISD calendar affect my possession schedule?
Substantially. A standard possession order keys holiday and summer periods to when school recesses and resumes rather than to fixed dates, so the district calendar determines the actual exchange days. Naming Dallas ISD in the order avoids arguments in years when the district's calendar differs from a neighbouring district's.
Is property division handled differently in Dallas County?
The governing law is identical statewide — Dallas County applies the same Texas Family Code provisions as every other county. What differs locally is procedure: how quickly the court sets contested hearings, its standing orders, and whether it requires mediation before granting a trial setting. Those differences affect timing and cost more than outcome.
Is Texas a 50/50 state?
No. Texas is a community property state, which is not the same thing as an equal-division state. Texas Family Code § 7.001 directs the court to divide the community estate in a manner that is just and right, having due regard for the rights of each party and any children. Disproportionate divisions are common and legal.
What is separate property in Texas?
Under Texas Family Code § 3.001, separate property is property owned or claimed by a spouse before marriage, property acquired during marriage by gift, devise or descent, and recovery for personal injuries sustained during marriage except for lost earning capacity. A court cannot divest a spouse of separate property in a divorce.
How do I prove an asset is my separate property?
By tracing it back to its separate source with documentary evidence, to a clear and convincing standard. Texas Family Code § 3.003 presumes property possessed by either spouse during or on dissolution of marriage is community property. An asset kept in its own account is straightforward to trace; one commingled with community funds over years may not be traceable at all, in which case it is treated as community.
Lisa G. Garza represents Dallas families from the firm's Dallas and McKinney offices.