Monahans, TX Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

In Texas, the house would be considered your separate property upon dissolution of the marriage if you can present proof that you bought it before you got maried (which is sounds like you can). However, because you are still married to him, the title company needs his signature because there has not been a divorce and a judicial determination of title to the house. Thus, there has been no judicial determination of whether he should get proceeds from the sale of the house. Technically, he should not get any proceeds. However, since you are still married, he might make a claim for proceeds. Is he trying to get money from the sale? Will either of you file for divorce?

Check with your tax preparer, but the usual rule is that the parent with primary possession of the child gets the dependency exemption, no matter what the state court divorce decree says.

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.