Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: Domestic Partner Protections

You can use a deed to transfer 1/2 interest in the property. If there is a mortgage, it might trigger a "due on sale" clause. There are other docuemnts that can safeguard both parties from the stresses of the moment. I suggest you contact an attorney and lay out the whole situation in order to get full protection for both.

Re: Domestic Partner Protections

By use of the term "partner," I assume you mean a same-sex relationship. The law of divorce does not apply to same-sex relationships, but other legal principles do. As far as getting the property in both your names, you would need to do a conveyance from the one to the both of you. You should be careful of this, however, because it may trigger a due-on-sale clause in your mortgage. As far as keeping each other from being removed from the house, I believe the Protective Order statute would apply even to same-sex couples, although I am not sure. The protection this statute gives is to require testimony before a judge to remove the other from a house, in an extreme emergency. This aspect of the law, incidentally, is the same as for same-sex couples.

On your first question, I suggest you contact an attorney with experience in real estate law as well as in family law. If you are in our area, we would be glad to help; otherwise, we could refer you to an attorney near you.