Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: benefits

While it would all depend on the divorce decree, I will assume that the pension in question was awarded as part of the division of the community property.

When pensions are divided, it is done according to a formula that takes into account how much of the pension was earned during the marriage, and a percentage of the pension is then usually awarded to the other spouse. The reason for this is that retirement benefits, much like wages and salaries earned during a marriage belong to the community estate, of which the wife and husband own in equal shares.

In your case, the death of your husband would not eliminate the court's award of a portion of your husband's pension any more than it would require her to return any other portion of the community estate she received during the divorce.