Houston, TX family law attorney Rachel Sedita talks about the trends she sees in the area of asset division in Texas. She observes that in Texas, courts are increasingly encouraging parties to reach their own agreements. More and more, courts require that parties attend mediation before a final trial. Mediation gives the parties the opportunity to creatively develop solutions to divide their assets—options that a court itself cannot provide.

She also notes that courts are trending toward a near 50/50 division of property. Today, courts generally require truly egregious conduct for a division to significantly deviate from equal. For example, while adultery can technically justify a disproportionate share, the actual impact is usually only a small adjustment—just a few percentage points rather than a large shift. Overall, courts are moving toward more equitable, balanced divisions unless there is extreme behavior by one party.