Most Texas divorce cases will end with an agreement reached between the parties. In these cases, the parties decide how and when property will be divided between the spouses.
If the parties reach an agreement on property division, then that agreement will be reduced to writing in the form of an Agreed Final Decree of Divorce.
If the parties are unable to reach an agreement, then a judge will decide the issue of property division in your divorce after a trial.
Methods of Reaching An Agreement on Property Division
There are several different methods by which the spouses may come to an agreement on how they will divide their marital property. Which option is best will depend on the complexity of the estate, the spouses’s relative knowledge and understanding of the property, and the dynamics of the relationship between the spouses at the time of the divorce.
It may be possible for the spouses to reach an agreement on property division merely through informal conversations between their attorneys. In amicable cases where there is broad consensus on the issue of property division, this is often the case.
In other cases, the parties might reach an agreement on property division through an informal settlement conference. An informal settlement conference occurs when the spouses and their attorneys sit down together to try to reach a resolution without the presence of a third party.
Resolving the issue of property division through an informal settlement conference is common when the parties are relatively amicable but there are still significant disagreements on how they each believe property should be divided in the divorce.
If the parties are unable to come to an agreement on property division in their divorce on their own, then another option is to address the issue through mediation.
Mediation involves the use of a neutral third party (the mediator) who will facilitate negotiations between the spouses and attempt to get them to come to an agreement.
If the spouses reach an agreement at mediation, then that agreement will be reduced to writing by the mediator in a Mediated Settlement Agreement that is filed with the court. That agreement is then binding on the spouses.
What Happens If You and Your Spouse Do Not Agree On Property Division In Your Divorce
If you and your spouse cannot reach an agreement through negotiation, an informal settlement conference, or mediation, then a judge will decide how the property will be divided at trial.
The legal standard the judge will use to divide the spouses’s community property is a “just and right” division of property. This is an equitable standard which means that the judge has broad discretion in deciding how to divide the property.
You can read more about the Details of Dividing Property In A Texas Divorce.
If you would like to schedule a consultation to discuss your divorce case, then please send me an e-mail or send a request through my contact page.
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