A partition agreement divides, or partitions, a married couple's community estate into two separate estates. It is sometimes called a post-nuptial or post-marital agreement and is similar to a prenuptial agreement, except that it is executed by a married couple.
In Texas, there is no presumption that each party owns separate property. However, spouses do have equal ownership rights to their respective properties.
Legal and Practical Considerations: Legally, both spouses have an equal right to stay in the marital home unless a court decides otherwise. This is because, in Texas, a home bought during the marriage is considered community property, owned equally by both spouses.
Premarital & Marital Property Agreements Premarital agreements (also known as prenuptial agreements) establish the property and financial rights of each spouse in the event of a divorce. These agreements can also be entered into after you get married, often referred to as marital property agreements.
Even if only one spouse's name is on the deed, any property bought during the marriage is presumed to be community property, unless it was bought with separate property funds. The spouse claiming it as separate property must prove it in court.
Property acquired during the marriage (outside of the noted exceptions) is considered community property. The spouses can, however, agree to convert (or “transmute”) community property into separate property. In Texas, this is done via a written agreement establishing a partition or exchange between the parties.
There are two potential pathways in seeking a partition: Partitions may be in kind (meaning that property is divided into separate parcels and each parcel is allotted to a separate owner) or by sale (meaning that property is sold and sale proceeds are divided among the owners).
The parties acknowledge that, to convert additional separate property of either party into com- munity property, the parties must prepare and sign a separate written instrument. This agreement may be enforced by suit in law or equity by either of the parties or by their heirs, executors, attorneys, or assigns.