00:04
there’s a huge difference between
00:06
community and separate property
00:08
and it’s significant in that a court
00:11
is only going to divide the community
00:13
property
00:14
of the parties separate property can’t
00:17
be divided
00:18
okay and so what is separate property
00:20
because obviously you want to try to do
00:22
what you can to make sure
00:24
as much as separate property as you can
00:26
because then it’s not subject to
00:27
division so what is it
00:29
it’s anything you own prior to marriage
00:31
it’s any gift you’ve received from
00:33
anyone so let’s say
00:35
that you gave your spouse a rolex
00:38
a week before uh you filed for divorce
00:42
is that rolex can you sell it is it
00:44
subject to division no
00:45
it’s that person’s separate property
00:47
it’s also you know any money you’ve
00:49
received from inheritance
00:51
so those two understanding the
00:54
difference of those is significant
00:56
then the problem that people get into is
00:59
when you’ve got what i will refer to as
01:02
co-mingled accounts so if you’ve got
01:06
an account that you and your spouse are
01:09
putting your paychecks into
01:11
and then you and inherit half a million
01:13
dollars from aunt betty
01:15
and you put that money from aunt betty
01:17
in that same account
01:19
you’ve got co-mingled funds so then to
01:21
determine
01:22
what is separate property and what is
01:24
community you generally need
01:27
a forensic accountant who can go in
01:29
there and do what is called tracing
01:31
to determine what’s separate and what’s
01:33
community obviously
01:35
if it happened two days ago it’s not a
01:36
problem most of the time
01:38
if it happened five years ago and you
01:41
have multiple transactions coming in and
01:43
out
01:44
of that account it’s a problem because
01:47
there are additional rules that apply
01:49
in presumptions that you have in texas
01:52
on determining what’s separate and
01:53
what’s community so
01:54
the big thing is make sure you talk to a
01:57
lawyer that knows what the hell they’re
01:58
doing in that regard
01:59
otherwise you can leave a lot on the
02:06
table