Berclair, TX Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

From what you describe, no, you'e not entitled to his income because you two never held yourselves out as being married, which is required to be common law married in Texas.

You don't have to sign a declaration of marriage to be married by common law in Texas. However, if she was already married to someone else, just cohabiting with you and holding herself out as married to you doesn't make her a bigamist. Likewise, cohabiting with the next guy doesn't make her a bigamist even if she's married to you by common law. You can't get married by common law if you're already married. Even if she married someone else formally after she split with you, you're very, very unlikely to get a prosecutor to charge her with bigamy. Your right to claim common law marriage will end two years after the split if you haven't filed for divorce by then.

During a divorce, there is a rebuttable presumption that all of your marital assets are community property, regardless of which spouse's name is listed on the title.  A party claiming to have a separate property interest in an item of property (for example, because they traded in another vehicle they owned before the marriage or used separate funds which were in a bank of account before the marriage) has the burden of proving their separate property interest by clear and convincing evidence, which often requires undisputed documentary evidence.  This usually isn't a factor in a marriage that has lasted "years."Upon divorce, your community property will be divided by the court in a manner that is "just and right" which does not necessarily mean 50-50.  The evidence you detail in your question will be considered in making a "just and right" division of your marital assets.  In most cases, barring unusual evidence, each spouse is awarded the motor vehicle they usually drive and is responsible for paying any debt owed that is secured by the vehicle.  If there is a significant disparity in value or equity, the court typically adjusts that using other assets.  Awarding a motor vehicle to one spouse while making the other spouse responsible for the debt is a recipe for post-divorce conflict and proceedings.  A competent and experienced attorney will strongly caution you against agreeing to such an arrangement.  A competent and experienced judge typically will not order it.