Elmaton, TX Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

To begin, Texas is a community property state, which means that, absent special circumstances--including but not limited to such things as (a) the disability of one spouse (b) a significant difference in the income and/or earning ability of the spouses, the relative ages of the spouses--the court is supposed to divide the net community estate (total community assets minus all community debts) essentially equally.  Your disability is an important factor weighing in favor of you receiving a greater than 50% share of the net community property, but the fact that your husband is older and and soon retiring weighs in the other direcrtion. Ther's certinaly a possibility that you could end up with the home, as long as you are able to keep up on the mortgage payments, but the court may require you to pay your husband all or part of his 50%  share of the accumulated equity in it, assuming it has positive equity.  If you are awarded the home, you will almost certainly also be required to refinance all loans secured by the home (i.e., mortgages , Home equity lines of credit.)  or otherwise remove your husband from all loans secured by the home.   You may also be entitled to spousal support (alimony), depending upon whether your husband has disposable income left after meeting his own reasonable living expenses (usually measured on a monthly basis).  If not, a court could decide instead to award you more of net community estate than is awarded your husband, which could be accomplished by reducing any amount you would otherwise owe your husband as his share of the equity in the home. Generally speaking, each spouse in a community property state is a 50% owner of the funds that have accumulated during the marriage in one spouse's 401(k) , IRA, or other similar retirement accounts.   You've got enough property issues that it would be to your benefit to consult an attorney so that he/she could obtain more specific information from you in order to give you a better idea of what type of divorce decision you might expect from the court.    

As a general rule, it is never a good idea to sign documents you don't fully understand. However, now that you have signed, you may want to revoke your signature by sending a written notice to your wife's attorney. Then, it is probably a good idea for you to hire a local attorney to protect your interests. 

You must e-file the counterpetition through the e-filing system. Your spouse will receive it through that system. Contact the clerk for the court where the original petition was filed to get more information about how to file the counterpetition. Some courts will allow you to file in person, but most require e-filing.