Separate Propery in Texas Divorce

I spoke last about community property in Texas. I wanted to follow that up with a more detailed discussion of what is considered separate property in Texas and what separate property means for a Texas divorce. 

Separate property is property that does not owe its existence to the marriage and is owned individually by a respective spouse. It generally consists of property owned or acquired by a spouse before the date of marriage.  or property that is given to an individual spouse as a gift or property that a spouse inherits. It can also include property recovered for personal injury whether recovered before or during the marriage. 

During a divorce, if property is determined to be the separate property of a spouse the court must confirm that property to the spouse. The court is prohibited from taking the separate property of a spouse and awarding it to the other spouse. However, the court may order the property be sold to pay or settle support for minor children. 

Any property that is found not to be separate property will be classified as community property. If you own property that's separate property then you don't have to worry about losing title to that property. Therefore, it is important to have an attorney who can accurately advise you on what property may be subject to court division and what isn't subject to division.