Get your questions answered - Request a phone consultation now! - (832) 529-1255
Get your questions answered - Request a phone consultation now! - (832) 529-1255
Houston Property Division Lawyer
Property division mistakes cost more than legal fees. Get careful, strategic representation for community property, high-asset divisions, business valuations, and retirement account splits — throughout the greater Houston area.
What We Do
Texas community property law is unforgiving of mistakes. We handle the technical work that protects your financial future.
In Texas divorces, everything you and your spouse own gets sorted into two categories: community property (subject to division) and separate property (generally not). The rules sound simple. In practice, they get complicated fast — especially when you own a home, retirement accounts, a business, or investments accumulated during the marriage.
Aminu Law Firm handles property division cases throughout Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Waller, Brazos, and Grimes counties. Attorney Rachael Aminu is a six-time Super Lawyers Rising Star (2021–2026) and a trained family law mediator. She approaches property division the way it needs to be approached: with careful analysis, strategic thinking about your specific goals, and honest conversations about what's realistic in your case.
Our Approach
Property division rewards preparation. The most common mistakes we see — clients losing separate property they couldn't prove, accepting settlements without understanding tax implications, missing reimbursement claims — are almost always avoidable with careful upfront work.
Our process:
For more on how Texas community property law actually works — and where it gets complicated — see our complete guide to property division in Texas divorce.
Assets We Handle
The largest asset in most Texas divorces. We structure buyouts through refinancing, offsets against other community property, or clean sales — with attention to tax implications and future refinancing capacity.
401(k)s, IRAs, pensions, and other retirement accounts require Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) to divide. We handle the QDRO drafting and coordinate with plan administrators so the division actually holds up.
If either spouse owns a business that operated during the marriage, the community estate has an interest. We coordinate the right valuation experts and negotiate outcomes that don't force a business sale when it can be avoided.
Brokerage accounts, savings, stock options, deferred compensation. Each requires specific attention to characterization, timing of contributions, and often tracing to distinguish community from separate portions.
Property owned before marriage, gifts, and inheritance are generally separate — but only if you can prove it. We help you establish the paper trail that protects your separate property from being classified as community.
Credit cards, loans, mortgages, and other debts get divided alongside assets. We ensure debt allocation is fair, addresses ongoing creditor exposure, and includes any reimbursement claims your community estate is owed.
What to Expect
A structured process designed to protect your financial future — not a sales pitch.
A $150 phone consultation focused on understanding your situation — what you own, what you owe, what you're trying to protect. The $150 is credited toward your retainer if you decide to hire us.
Once engaged, we work with you to complete a full inventory of community and separate property, along with likely reimbursement claims and property that will require expert valuation.
We build a division strategy around your specific priorities and then negotiate accordingly. Most property divisions resolve in mediation with the right preparation.
We handle the decree drafting, QDROs, deed transfers, and post-decree steps needed to actually move property between spouses — not just paperwork that says it should happen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not automatically. Texas law requires a "just and right" division of community property, which can range from 50/50 to significantly unequal depending on factors like earning capacity, fault in breaking up the marriage, fraud on the community, and children's needs. Most contested Texas divorces settle somewhere between 50/50 and 60/40.
Community property is generally everything acquired during the marriage with marital income or effort — including homes, retirement contributions, savings, and vehicles, regardless of whose name is on the title. Separate property includes assets owned before marriage, gifts received during marriage, and inheritance. Texas presumes everything acquired during marriage is community property unless proven otherwise with clear and convincing evidence.
Several outcomes are possible: one spouse buys out the other's share (typically through refinancing or offset), the house is sold and proceeds divided, or one spouse keeps the house temporarily (often the primary custodial parent) with a required sale date. The right approach depends on the specific facts — including whether both spouses can qualify to refinance separately.
Generally yes — property owned before marriage is separate property. But the burden is on you to prove it's separate, which typically requires documentation showing the property existed before marriage and wasn't commingled with marital funds. Many people lose valuable separate property claims simply because they can't produce the necessary records.
A Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) is a separate court order that directs a retirement plan administrator how to divide an account between spouses. A divorce decree alone isn't enough — retirement plans require the specific QDRO format to move funds. QDROs typically cost $500–$2,500 each, and complex cases can require multiple QDROs. Getting them wrong can mean losing significant retirement assets.
Generally no. Unlike custody or child support, which can be modified when circumstances change, property division is typically final once the divorce decree is entered. Very narrow exceptions exist — usually involving fraud, mistake, or newly discovered undisclosed assets — but these are difficult to prove. This is why getting property division right the first time matters so much.
Ready When You Are
Property division mistakes cost more than the legal fees to avoid them. On a phone consultation, Attorney Rachael Aminu will listen to your situation and give you an honest assessment of what's at stake and how to protect it.
Initial consultations are $150, credited toward your retainer if you engage us.
