In a divorce, most individuals expect to divide assets such as income, the house, vehicles, and even the children, but when they are told that they must split their retirement savings or pension plans with their former spouse, they are shocked. After all, you expected to split the past with your ex, but now you have to share a piece of your future with them, as well?

According to the Texas Family Code, retirement pension plans are considered a part of the marital income, and income is considered joint marital property. As such, any retirement savings you and your former spouse had accumulated during the marriage is divided between the two of you in a divorce, despite each party's contribution (or lack thereof) to the account.

How Much of Your Pension is Your Former Spouse Entitled to?

Fortunately, Texas does not force you to split your entire pension with your former spouse; you must only surrender half of what was accumulated during the duration of the marriage. In very rare instances, the court may grant one spouse interests in future retirement earnings if they feel that one spouse contributed more to the marriage than the other. Again though, this is a very rare occurrence.

When people think of witnesses at trial, they generally think of witnesses in criminal law cases or even in personal injury cases. Most likely they do not think of witnesses in divorce cases; however, some divorce cases are so complex that they require substantial evidence before a judge can make a decision.

Witness testimony is one valuable form of evidence that a judge may need before he or she can make a final decision. When witness testimony is necessary, either one or both party's attorneys, or possibly the judge, might subpoena the person who holds the desired information.

Are you are going through a complex divorce case? You may experience the subpoenaing of a witness.

So, you want to know what becomes of your diamond ring in the event of a divorce? Some people will tell you that the engagement ring is a gift, and that women should be able to keep it in the divorce, or even if the engagement falls through entirely. Others will say that the ring is a gift with contingencies-namely that the woman should be able to keep it so long as the marriage is good; if the marriage falters or if the engagement falls through, the woman must give the ring back. The latter belief is more in line with what is deemed 'socially acceptable,' but what is socially acceptable is not always what people do. If you are in a situation in which you are not sure what to do with your engagement ring-give it back or keep it-our Dallas property division lawyers at Clark Law Group can share a few guiding principles to follow.

How to Determine the Ownership of the Ring

Determining the ownership of an engagement ring all depends on the circumstances leading up to the dissolution of the relationship. Consider the following situations:

Student loans can put a lot of stress on a marriage, but that stress can be amplified when divorce rolls around and those student loans are still not settled. Despite popular belief, the person who owns the student debt may not be fully responsible for paying them off once the divorce is final. While this is usually the case in instances when the debt was incurred before the union, it is not so in instances in which the loans were taken out during the course of the marriage.

At Clark Law Group, our Dallas debt allocation attorneys understand that dividing student debt can be complicated, if not a little bit frustrating. In a simple world, the debt would go to the person who directly benefited from the education-the student-and the other spouse would walk away without obligation. However, we do not live in a simple world, and oftentimes, student debt is acquired to help one or both spouses advance their careers-which is for the betterment of the family unit. This post was designed to help you better understand how and why you may be responsible for all of your own student loans or part of your future former spouse's student loans, and what you can do to lessen your financial burden.

Factors That May Affect Your Financial Responsibility

In a typical divorce, couples will be forced to divide assets such as homes, bank accounts, cars, and other physical property. While it can be emotionally difficult to part with your hard-earned money or a favorite piece of furniture, it is not difficult for a judge to divvy up such material assets. What about the other things that you value from your marriage that do not necessarily have a monetary value, but an emotional one, such as family photographs, pets, and gifts and heirlooms? What becomes of them?

At Clark Law Group, our Dallas divorce lawyers have helped many couples discover and divide theirunusual assets in a way that makes the most sense for you and your former spouse.

Assets Commonly Overlooked in a Dallas Divorce