If you are going through a divorce in Fort Worth or anywhere in Texas, the house can feel like the biggest question on the table, and maybe the most emotional one. I want to start with the hard part. A divorce decree can divide a house, but it does not change the mortgage. Plenty of people learn that too late. I am a real estate agent, not an attorney or a lender, so this post is not legal or financial advice. It is a plain map and a list of questions to take to the people who can give you real answers.
Texas is a community property state. In general terms, property a spouse owned before marriage, or received by gift or inheritance, is separate property. Texas law presumes property possessed by either spouse during or at the end of the marriage is community property, and proving otherwise takes clear and convincing evidence. TexasLawHelp notes that a home bought during the marriage can be community no matter whose name is on the title.
The split does not have to be 50/50. Texas courts divide community property and debt in a way that is "just and right." That is why two divorces with similar houses can come out very differently. Only your attorney can tell you how this applies to you, especially if one spouse owned the home first, put in separate money or refinanced during the marriage.
One spouse keeps the home and takes on the debt, often by buying out the other's share of the equity or trading it against another asset. If you cannot agree, a judge may award it to one party or order it sold.
This is the path with the biggest trap. TexasLawHelp says a mortgage company's right to payment is not changed by a divorce decree. If the other spouse is awarded the house and stops paying, the lender can still come after you. Your credit is still attached to that loan.
TexasLawHelp says the usual way to get a name off the loan is for the spouse keeping the house to refinance, and that the decree should say how long they have. A court cannot force a bank to make that loan. It also recommends a Deed of Trust to Secure Assumption so the responsible spouse keeps paying until the refinance is done. A special warranty deed, filed with the county clerk, moves the other spouse's interest. The State Law Library warns against quitclaim deeds in Texas.
There may be another option. The CFPB has reported that someone who receives a home through divorce can generally modify the loan or remove a name without refinancing, if they take on the liability and meet the investor's underwriting. That can matter a lot if the current rate is low. The CFPB also reports that people run into long delays and get told to refinance anyway, so ask your servicer early and keep records. Federal law also generally stops a lender from calling a loan due because of a transfer from a divorce decree. If your loan is a VA or FHA loan, assumption rules have their own details.
Now the honest question: can you carry it alone? Run the full payment, including taxes and insurance, plus the roof, the pool and the things you used to split. Keeping the house and being house-poor is not a win.
Selling turns a hard decision into a number you can divide, and it can give both of you a clean break from the loan. The downside is that you both have to cooperate through the whole sale. TexasLawHelp says both parties must sign closing documents, and that the decree should include a legal description and a sale timeline.
Get these questions answered before you list:
Taxes matter here. IRS Publication 523 says a home transferred to a spouse or former spouse as part of a divorce settlement is generally treated as having no gain or loss. It also says the exclusion on a sale can reach $250,000 for a single filer and $500,000 on a joint return if you meet the tests, and time can count if a former spouse lives in the home under a divorce instrument. Ask your CPA how the timing of your sale and your divorce affects this.
You will also need a real number. A Zestimate will not do it. Ask your attorney whether you need a formal appraisal, or start with a home value estimate to get your bearings.
This one often comes with a lot of hope, and it deserves a careful start. Your lender is your first call, and ideally before your divorce is final, so you know what is possible.
Lenders look at your own income, debts and credit, and the divorce can touch all three. If your income will include alimony or child support, Fannie Mae's Selling Guide calls for evidence of the payment terms, a six-month history of full, regular and timely receipt, and an expectation that the income will continue for at least three years. So under those guidelines, support that just started may not count yet.
You do not have to decide all of this in one sitting. Take it one question at a time, and get answers from the right people. This timeline shows what a sale or purchase looks like from start to finish, whenever you are ready.
There is no automatic answer. Texas is a community property state, and courts divide community property in a just and right way, which is not always 50/50. Spouses may also agree on a plan. Your attorney can explain how this applies to you.
No. A decree can say who pays, but TexasLawHelp says it does not change the mortgage company's right to payment. Getting off the loan usually takes a refinance or a lender-approved assumption. Ask your attorney and lender.
Possibly. It depends on your income, debts, credit and your attorney's advice on timing. Fannie Mae generally wants a six-month history for support income and at least three years of expected continuance. Talk to your lender and attorney first.
When you are ready for a straight number and no pressure, book a confidential time with me, or start with what your home may be worth.
REALTOR® · BHHS PenFed Realty Texas
I help buyers and sellers across the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex — Fort Worth, Burleson, Southlake, Crowley and Keller, and the surrounding Dallas area. I write these because they are the questions I answer on the phone every week, and most people never get a straight answer to them. If you have one I have not covered, ask me — I will probably turn it into the next post.
