Should we keep
the house?
Most Texas keep-the-house decisions turn on four numbers: whether you can carry the mortgage solo, the community equity to split, the buyout under the "just and right" range, and capital-gains exposure on a future sale. The tool runs the math; the trade-off is still yours.
The four pieces of law the tool is leaning on.
"Just and right" division — Texas Family Code § 7.001
Texas is a community-property state with a twist. The court divides community property in a manner "just and right" — discretionary, not formulaic. Practitioners' working range usually runs from 50/50 to roughly 60/40, weighted by relative earning capacity, fault, separate-estate size, conservatorship outcomes, and other factors that have accreted in Texas case law over the last fifty years. The tool's buyout range reflects that working bracket; it does not predict where your judge will land.
Community vs separate property — Texas Family Code §§ 3.001–3.003
Property acquired during the marriage is presumed community (§ 3.003). Property owned before the marriage, gifts, inheritance, and recoveries for personal injury (other than lost earnings) are separate. The character of a home depends on title history, source of down payment, and how the parties paid the mortgage during the marriage. The conservative rule of thumb the tool uses is a starting frame, not a final tracing. Reimbursement claims under § 3.402 are where many house-related disputes actually live.
Spousal maintenance — Texas Family Code Chapter 8
Texas spousal maintenance is unusually restrictive compared to most states. Eligibility under § 8.051 typically requires either a marriage of at least ten years (with the requesting spouse unable to earn enough to meet minimum reasonable needs) or specific qualifying circumstances like family violence or disability. When awarded, amounts are capped under § 8.054 at the lesser of $5,000 per month or 20% of the obligor's average gross monthly income. If maintenance is in your case, the tool factors it into post-divorce income; if your case is one of the many Texas divorces where maintenance isn't on the table, leave it at zero.
The capital gains exclusion — IRC § 121
Not family law — federal tax law — but it shapes the house decision. A married couple selling a principal residence can typically exclude up to $500,000 of gain from federal income tax if they meet the ownership and use tests (owned and used the home as a principal residence for at least 2 of the prior 5 years). After divorce, the keeping spouse files single and uses a $250,000 exclusion. Selling soon after divorce often preserves the joint exclusion; staying years past divorce often doesn't. This is the kind of question where we coordinate with tax counsel before structuring the settlement.
What still needs an attorney.
- Whether your judge tends to skew "just and right" divisions toward 50/50, 55/45, or further.
- Whether your particular separate-property claim survives a tracing challenge.
- Whether the lender will actually approve the refinance — qualification on one income at current rates.
- Whether a structured trade (you keep the house, your spouse keeps a retirement account of equivalent after-tax value) is the right move in your specific facts.
- Whether your spouse's separate-property contribution gets reimbursement under § 3.402 — and if so, how much.
- What the timeline pressure looks like if both spouses claim the house in the original pleadings.
The tool is the first hour of math. The attorney is everything after that.
Honest answers
to fair questions.
"Is the recommendation legal advice?"
No. The tool runs the math the Texas Family Code prescribes. It cannot run a specific case. 'Just and right' division under TFC § 7.001 is discretionary and fact-dependent — your judge, your county, your specific facts all change the outcome. Use the result to frame the conversation with an attorney; don't use it to settle the conversation.
"What's 'just and right' in Texas property division?"
Texas Family Code § 7.001 requires the court to divide community property in a manner 'just and right.' That is not a 50/50 mandate. It's a discretionary range, weighted by factors the courts have developed over decades — relative earning capacity, fault in the breakup of the marriage, the size of each spouse's separate estate, who has the children most of the time, age and health, and others. In practice the range usually runs from 50/50 to roughly 60/40, with outliers in either direction in unusual cases.
"How does the tool decide what is community vs separate equity?"
It uses a conservative simplification based on your inputs. A home purchased before the marriage is treated as separate equity. A home purchased during the marriage with no separate funds is treated as community equity. A home purchased during the marriage with a separate-property down payment splits dollar-for-dollar with the separate portion not sharing in appreciation — the conservative position. Real tracing under TFC §§ 3.001–3.003 is fact-dependent; commingling, reimbursement claims under § 3.402, and appreciation allocation are the kinds of questions an attorney verifies.
"Why does the tool show a buyout range instead of a single number?"
Because the actual buyout is a negotiation, not a formula. The low end is a straight 50% of the community equity. The high end reflects the 'just and right' skew that often applies when one spouse takes the riskier illiquid asset — the home — and the other gets liquid assets. The tool's range gives you the conversation's bracket; the settlement happens inside that bracket.
"What about capital gains taxes?"
If you sell the home within roughly two years of divorce, the IRC § 121 joint $500,000 exclusion typically still applies if you and your spouse both meet the ownership and use tests (owned + lived in the home for at least 2 of the prior 5 years). If you stay longer, the keeping spouse uses the single $250,000 exclusion. Gains above the exclusion are taxed. This is tax law, not family law — we coordinate with a CPA or tax counsel when the numbers matter.
"Does the tool save my information anywhere?"
No. Every calculation runs in your browser. Your inputs never leave the page. The URL updates as you fill in the form so you can bookmark or share your scenario by link, but nothing is sent to our servers, nothing is logged, and nothing is stored. If you close the tab without saving the URL, the scenario disappears.
An hour with Cristi.
Run the numbers above. Bookmark the URL — your scenario is in the link, not on our servers. Then schedule an initial consultation ($250, one hour). We will work through your specific case — your judge, your county, your facts — and tell you what we'd actually do.