I would like to keep the house and half of his retirement. Do I have a great chance of that happening?
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I would like to keep the house and half of his retirement. Do I have a great chance of that happening?
I have been with my husband 17 yrs. 7 years together and 10 yrs married
making a total of 17 yrs. with him. I have not worked since 2006. I was a stay at
home wife/mother. I just started working on April 2016. We have been
separated since January 7, 2016. He is living with someone already and she is
also pregnant from him. He has made an offer of me keeping the house if I
don’t get half of his retirement. I want to keep the house and also ask for half
of the retirement I also have three kids.
Do I have a good chance on getting what my kids and I deserve?
Thank you
Asked on September 14, 2016 under Family Law, Texas
Answers:
B.H.F., Member, Texas State Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Everything that you want depends on values and conduct. When deciding 'who gets what', Texas uses a fair and equitable standard. Most people think this means 50/50, and that is generally what the courts shoot for. The court can divide the retirement 50/50 and the court can divide the equity in the home 50/50. Even though the general goal is 50/50... the court can deviate from this if they have a reason to.
Some of those reasons can include: disparity in the earning abilities of the parties, needs of the children, and conduct of the parties during the marriage. Considering that you haven't worked in 10 years, the court can award you a more than 50% share to help you get back on your feet. If the children are accustomed to a certain lifestyle, the judge can award additional property for support or additional child support based on additional need. Some judges will give you a slight bump if you can prove the other party committed adultery... but this is not the big ticket bump that it used to be. Unfortunately, more and more judges have become some desensitive to adultery. So... this will really depend on the personality of the judges in your jurisdiction. However, if your husband has lavished gifts on the new girlfriend, then those gifts would have been paid for out of the community estate... and the judge can order him to repay those amounts to the community estate (which would include you), since lavish gifts can be considered fraud.
Overall, you need to visit with an attorney. Review all of your options. Texas added marital support to the family code several years ago, but enforcement (like enforcement for child support), still remains and issue with the Texas AG... so if you can obtain a better property division, then cash up from is more stable than 'maybe' cash down the road.
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