COMMUNITY PROPERTY

Section 5.01 of the Texas Family Code provides that a spouse’s separate property consists of:

• Property owned by the spouse before marriage;
• Property acquired by the spouse during marriage, if by gift, devise or descent (inheritance); and
• A recovery from personal injury sustained during marriage except to the extent that the injury includes damage for loss of earning capacity.

Community property consists of the property, other than separate property acquired by either spouse during marriage. There is a presumption that property possessed during the marriage is community property; the spouse claiming otherwise has the burden of proving that the property is separate.

Community property falls into two classes: special community and general community. Special community property is property that is under the management of one or the other of the spouses and general community property is under the joint management of both spouses. Special rules apply to property acquired during a marriage by a couple living in a non-community state, if the couple later moves to Texas.

The rules classifying separate and community property seem simple enough, but actually are quite complex. If community property is an issue, an attorney should be consulted to address specific questions.