Divorce in Texas

No kids, 10 years of mariage, husband took care of house payments and bills, wife contributing to other costs (furniture, savings, vacation etc...) husband claims that an attorney would consider this and not split the equity in half in case of a divorce, how true is that, isn't Texas community property?

No kids, 10 years of mariage, husband took care of house payments and bills, wife contributing to other costs (furniture, savings, vacation etc...) husband claims that an attorney would consider this and not split the equity in half in case of a divorce, how true is that, isn't Texas community property? What if one of the spouse moves out? Who keeps what?

If you ask this question of a dozen people, you will get a dozen answers.

As a general rule of thumb, the state of Texas does not have to divide assets equally for different reasons, but I suspect that, after ten years of marriage, the judge will rule as fairly and as equitably as possible since it would be nearly impossible to prove who paid what over the course of a decade.

Hire an attorney immediately to protect your interests.

Actually, both you and your husband are partially correct, though probably not in the sense you're thinking. Unless the 2 of you can come to a mutually agreed upon settlement, the courts will step in and depending on your circumstances, either do a straight "50/50" division or end up doing an equitable (not necessarily equal) distribution. Generally, '50/50' is equitable in that both parties receive equal net value. (Net value is determined at the time of the divorce, and simply means what the property can be sold for at current market value.) One party may get the net value of the house, for example, while the other receive comparable net value of whatever other joint marital assets/property equal that amount. Make sense? (This is only in regards to joint marital property and not certain separate property acquired either prior to the marriage or purchased within the marriage from clearly separate funds.)

The past financial contribution to the marriage (by either party) typically doesn't figure into the settlement. Note typically. However, the future earnings of one party can play a part in the division. If, for example, you and your husband split, his earnings are substantial and you're forced to re-enter the workforce at substantially less earnings, the court could award more 'net assets' in your favour. That's only one factor taken into consideration. It can get pretty tricky.

Best bet is to consult with a divorce attorney as soon and hopefully the two of you can come to some sort of equal agreement. If not, you face the possibility of the courts doing it for you, and neither of you may be happy with the results. I've forwarded a link for informational purposes only via private message above; the specifics for your situation can more clearly be spelled out for you by a good attorney. (You need one, in my opinion.)

Good luck.