Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: Divorce settlement?

If the retirement was accumulated during the marriage, that would be something I would strongly consider. Some retirement is not within the easy reach of creditors and money in hand may be a thing to value.

Re: Divorce settlement?

First, either you will agree to a settlement or the judge will make one. In Texas, the judge does not have to award the property 50/50.

That said, the retirement account is community property if you were married the entire time that it was accumulated. The debt is community debt. Therefore, this is about an equal split if there is no other property.

The advantage to taking all of the debt is that the party to whom it was not awarded is still liable on it to the creditors. Therefore, if she took the debt and then did not pay it, the creditor could come back on you. You would be able to try to collect from her, but that might not be too easy.

In other words, if you split the retirement account and the debt, she might get half of the retirement and you might still have to pay all of the debt. If you can afford to make the payments, this might be a good deal.