FAMILY CODE
CHAPTER 7. AWARD OF MARITAL PROPERTY
§ 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, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 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, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 692, § 4, eff. Sept. 1,
1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 838, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 2001;
Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 230, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 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, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 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, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 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, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 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, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 7.007. DISPOSITION OF CLAIM FOR ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION
OR CLAIM FOR REIMBURSEMENT. (a) In a decree of divorce or
annulment, the court shall determine the rights of both spouses in a
claim for economic contribution as provided by Subchapter E,
Chapter 3, and 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, shall:
(1) order a division of a claim for economic
contribution of the community marital estate to the separate
marital estate of one of the spouses;
(2) order that a claim for an economic contribution by
one separate marital estate of a spouse to the community marital
estate of the spouses be awarded to the owner of the contributing
separate marital estate; and
(3) order that a claim for economic contribution of
one separate marital estate in the separate marital estate of the
other spouse be awarded to the owner of the contributing marital
estate.
(b) 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, § 5, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
