Texas is a community property state, which means that all property acquired by either party during the marriage (with very limited exceptions) is considered property of the marital estate. If the parties cannot agree on a division of property, the court will divide it in a manner it determines to be "just and right." As a general rule, this means each party gets 50% of the community property, but depending on the circumstances—such as fault--one party might receive more or less, or a "disproportionate share."

Property owned by either party before the marriage, or received by gift or inheritance by one party during the marriage, may be considered separate property not subject to division. However, depending on how the party who owned that property treated it during the marriage (such as putting it in a joint bank account), it may be treated as community property.