Management and Control of Property of Spouses

On Behalf of | Dec 10, 2010 | Divorce |

Under the Uniform Marital Property Act a spouse acting alone may manage and control that spouse’s property that is not marital property; except as provided in Subsections B and C, marital property held in that spouse’s name alone or not held in the name of either spouse; a policy of insurance if that spouse is designated as the owner of records of the issue of it; the rights of an employee under an arrangement for deferred employment benefits that accrue as a result of that spouse’s employment; a claim for relief vested in that spouse by other law; and marital property held in the name of both spouses in the alternative, including a manner of holding using the names of both spouses and the word “for”.

Spouses may manage and control marital property held in the names of both spouses other than in the alternative only if they act together under the Uniform Marital Act.

The right to manage and control marital property transferred to a trust is determined by the terms of the trust.  The right to manage and control marital property under the Uniform Marital Property Act does not determine the classification of property of the spouses and does not rebuke the presumption of Subsection 4b.  The right to manage and control marital property from its gifts of that property only to the extent provided in Section 6.

There are many differences between the Uniform Marital Property Act and separate and community property in Texas.  Since Texas is defined as a community property state, there are some very intricate and detailed laws concerning the determination of whether or not it is separate or community property.  In general, all property acquired after the date of the marriage with certain limited exceptions like inherited property is deemed to be community property.

Archives