During your divorce, you must come to an agreement on a range of important topics. One of the most complex is property division. You must first make sure to carefully divide the property into that which you each own separately and that which you own together. Then you must divide up the jointly-owned property in a fair manner.
Coming to an agreement about the division of your assets is difficult and tedious, but once you reach something that works, it is generally final. The Texas Family Code explains once the court finalizes your divorce, it is almost impossible to change the terms of property division clauses.
BASIC RULE
Texas law states that a court cannot modify, amend, alter or change a property division agreement in a divorce decree. Furthermore, it says any order that attempts to alter the agreement is invalid and the court cannot enforce it.
CLARIFICATION
One thing the court can do is issue an order of clarification. It cannot change the previous order but can make the terms clearer.
Because the law prevents any changes to a property division agreement in a divorce decree, it is essential to ensure that you cover everything thoroughly in the original agreement. You must make sure to find and list all assets in the decree. You must ensure you are completely happy with the final agreement and any compromises you make.
Other aspects of a divorce decree are open to modification. The lack of ability to alter property division claims after a divorce is one of the reasons why it is typically the most complicated part of reaching a divorce settlement.
