The single most important question in dividing a Texas divorce estate is simple to ask and hard to answer: what is community property, and what is separate? Only community property gets divided. Separate property stays with the spouse who owns it. This guide explains the difference and how Texas law decides.

Texas law starts from the idea that a marriage is an economic partnership. Most of what either spouse earns or acquires during the marriage belongs to both of you equally, that is community property. When you divorce, the court divides the community estate in a way it finds “just and right,” which is often close to even but does not have to be.

Separate property is different. It belongs to one spouse alone and is not divided.

Under Texas law, separate property generally includes:

• Property you owned before the marriage.
• Gifts given specifically to you during the marriage.
• Inheritances you received during the marriage (property acquired by devise or descent).
• Certain personal-injury recoveries, except amounts meant to replace lost earning capacity during the marriage.

Anything that does not fit these categories, and was acquired during the marriage, is presumed to be community property.

Community property generally includes everything acquired during the marriage that is not separate, for example:

• Wages, salary, bonuses, and self-employment income earned during the marriage.
• Retirement contributions and growth accrued during the marriage.
• Real estate and vehicles bought during the marriage.
• Bank and investment accounts funded during the marriage.
• A business built or grown during the marriage.

It does not matter whose name is on the title or account. What matters is when and how the property was acquired.

Here is the rule that surprises people: at divorce, all property is presumed to be community property. If you claim something is separate, you have to prove it, by clear and convincing evidence.

That means keeping and producing records: a pre-marriage account statement, gift or inheritance documentation, a deed, or a clear paper trail. Without proof, an asset you believe is yours alone can be treated as community property and divided. This is closely tied to the problem of commingling, when separate property gets mixed with community property and loses its separate character.

Because only community property is divided, the line between community and separate often determines who walks away with what. In marriages with businesses, real estate, inheritances, or significant premarital assets, correctly characterizing each asset can be worth more than the arguments over how to split the community estate itself.

This is careful, records-driven work, and getting it right early shapes the entire divorce.