Harker Heights, TX Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

Because you have a signficant amount of separate property, it would be a good idea to get an attorney to protect your rights. In Texas, all property is presumed to be community property during a divorce, unless that property was obtained by gift, devise or descent and unless it was obtained before the marriage. You would need to produce paperwork showing when you bought your house and cars. You would also need to show when your 401K started and how much it increased in valude during the marriage. Your spouse would be entitled to half of the growth during the marriage, but sometimes, there is no growth or it's so mimimal that the other spouse decides not to go through the trouble and expense of getting their share. Again, the best way to protect your rights is to get an attorney to represent you.

Yes, your wife can divorce you. You may want to start the proceedings here though, and very soon, so that the court here has jurisdiction. She cannot touch your social security payments because of Federal law, although if you are receiving any payments on behalf of your children, they might be used for child support. If you want to keep the children, you must ask the court to give you custody. In Idaho, the courts are required to maintain the parental relationship unless it would cause harm to the child. But again, in Idaho, one party cannot move out of state with the children without the agreement of the other parent or a court order. In that case, the court must find that it is in the best interests of the child to move. It doesn't sound like your pension is subject to community property, but it may be subject to child support.

Yes, any property your purchased while legally married (even if separated) is community property and therefore jointly owned by you and your wife. The exception to this rule is if you executed a prenuptial or post marital agreement wherein you decided that what you buy belongs exclusively to you and what she buys is exclusively her separate property. Contact a family lawyer in your area to start the divorce process so there is no confusion about the division of assets in your marriage.