Property Agreements

Property agreements include Premarital agreements (“Pre-Nups”), Post-marital agreements, agreements to convert, and cohabitation agreements.

A Premarital agreement is one made between people who plan to get married, which is to go into effect as soon as they get married.  Key points regarding Premarital agreements include:

  • A Premarital agreement must be in writing and signed by the parties;
  • A Premarital agreement may address the rights and obligations of the parties in property they own, property they will acquire in the future, and the disposition of property on death or divorce;
  • A Premarital agreement is not enforceable if the party against whom enforcement is sought can prove certain things (fraud, duress, etc.).

A Post-marital agreement is one made between spouses, and it allows a married couple to create rules to govern their property that are different from the rules in the Family Code.  Key points regarding Post-marital agreements include:

  • A Post-marital agreement must also be in writing and signed by the parties;
  • A Post-marital agreement allows spouses to change community property to separate property, or to agree that income arising from separate property owned by one of them (which would ordinarily be community income) shall remain separate property;
  • A Post-marital agreement may also address the rights and obligations of the parties in property they own, and the disposition of property on death or divorce.

Newer to Texas is the agreement to convert a spouse’s separate property to community property.  To be enforceable, an agreement to convert must:

  • Be in writing and signed by the parties;
  • Identify the property being converted; and
  • Specify that the property being converted is the spouses’ community property.

The Texas Family Code does not provide for non-marital cohabitation agreements.