A high net worth divorce in Austin puts everything you have built on the table: a business, real estate, stock compensation, retirement accounts, and investments that took decades to grow. Texas presumes that nearly all property acquired during the marriage belongs to both spouses, and a Travis County judge has wide discretion to divide it in whatever way the court finds just and right. That discretion means the outcome depends less on a formula and more on how well your assets are traced, valued, and presented.
The decisions you make in the first few weeks of a high-asset divorce can affect your finances for the rest of your life. If substantial wealth is at stake in your marriage, Sanchez & Farrar PLLC offers a free consultation so you can get clear answers before you make a single move. Call 830-218-4338 or contact us online to get started.
Our attorneys handle high-net-worth divorces with the discretion and financial depth these cases demand. We work with valuation and forensic professionals, prepare every case as if it will be tried, and keep you informed throughout your case. Read client testimonials to learn more about how we have approached cases like yours. Every case starts with a conversation about your situation, at no cost to you.
The core rules are the same in every Austin divorce, but the stakes and complexity are not. When a marital estate includes a company, executive compensation, multiple properties, or trust interests, small valuation errors turn into six- or seven-figure losses, and there is more room for one spouse to obscure income or move assets.
High-asset cases usually require a team beyond your legal counsel, including forensic accountants, business valuation professionals, real estate appraisers, and tax advisors. The spouse who builds that team early usually has the stronger position at the table and in court.
Texas is a community property state. Under Texas Family Code § 3.003, all property either spouse possesses at the time of divorce is presumed community property unless clear and convincing evidence, a higher standard of proof than in most civil disputes, proves it is separate. Separate property generally includes what you owned before the marriage and what you received during it by gift or inheritance.
The court then divides the community estate under Texas Family Code § 7.001, which requires a division that is just and right, not an automatic 50/50 split. Judges can weigh fault in the marriage’s breakup, each spouse’s earning capacity, health, education, and who will be the primary conservator of the children. In a large estate, a shift of even a few percentage points represents a life-changing amount of money, which is why proof and preparation matter so much.
Most disputes in a high net worth divorce come down to what something is actually worth. The assets that most often need professional valuation include:
If your spouse controls the finances, you may not know what the estate actually contains. Undervalued businesses, delayed bonuses, transfers to family members, cryptocurrency, and offshore accounts are common hiding places, and the discovery process, backed by forensic accounting, is designed to compel full disclosure.
Texas law also gives you a remedy when a spouse wastes or conceals marital assets. Under Texas Family Code § 7.009, when a court finds fraud on the community, it must reconstitute the estate, calculate what the community would have been worth without the fraud, and divide that larger amount.
Many high-asset marriages involve a premarital or postmarital agreement, and that document often decides the biggest questions in the case. Texas enforces these agreements under Texas Family Code Chapter 4. Still, they can be challenged if a spouse did not sign voluntarily or if the agreement was unconscionable, meaning grossly unfair when signed, and signed without fair disclosure of the other spouse’s finances. Its enforceability should be evaluated at the very start of your case because it changes your entire strategy.
Money questions do not end with property division. Texas caps court-ordered spousal maintenance under Texas Family Code § 8.055 at the lesser of $5,000 per month or 20% of the paying spouse’s average monthly gross income, which is why high-asset cases often resolve support through contractual alimony negotiated as part of the settlement.
Child support works differently at high income levels too. Guideline support under Texas Family Code § 154.125 applies to the first $11,700 of the paying parent’s monthly net resources, meaning income after taxes and a few specific deductions, a cap that took effect on September 1, 2025. When a parent earns above that cap, the court can order additional support based on the child’s proven needs, which in affluent families can include private school, travel, tutoring, and extracurricular costs.
What you do before and during the case matters as much as what happens in court. To protect your position from day one:
Most high-asset divorces take 9 to 18 months, though Texas requires only a 60-day waiting period after filing. Business valuations, discovery disputes, and settlement negotiations drive the timeline, and cooperative spouses with clean records resolve much faster than contested ones.
Much of it can. Court filings are public by default, but protective orders can shield sensitive financial records, and resolving your case through mediation or a private settlement keeps valuations and account details out of the public file.
Possibly. The business itself may remain your separate property. Still, income it produced during the marriage is generally community property, and your spouse may have a reimbursement claim if community funds or uncompensated effort increased its value.
Texas courts can still account for it. A Travis County judge can divide out-of-state and international assets by awarding offsetting property here or ordering a spouse to sign documents transferring ownership. However, foreign holdings often require extra steps to enforce.
You only get one chance to divide your marital estate, and mistakes made now are difficult to undo later. The sooner you have a strategy, the better protected your business, savings, and children will be. Sanchez & Farrar PLLC is ready to stand between you and a bad outcome. Call 830-218-4338 or contact us online today to schedule your free consultation.
To learn more about the services offered by Sanchez & Farrar, PLLC, call our firm or send us an email. We have offices in New Braunfels and Austin.
