Board Certified in Family Law
Plano Divorce Lawyer: Bonus, Equity and Corporate Pay
For many Plano households, the hard part of a divorce is the pay structure. Salary is simple. Bonuses, stock awards and deferred pay are not.
Two Questions About the Same Paycheck
Corporate compensation gets asked two different questions in a divorce, and people often merge them. The first is property: is this award, or part of it, community property to be divided? The second is income: does this money count when child support is calculated?
The answers can differ. Texas presumes property held by either spouse during or at the end of the marriage is community property (Texas Family Code § 3.003), and the court divides the community estate in a manner it finds just and right (§ 7.001). Child support looks at something else entirely: net resources.
Bonuses Count for Child Support
Under Texas Family Code § 154.062, net resources include all wage and salary income and other pay for personal services, and the statute names commissions, overtime, tips and bonuses. It also lists interest and dividends. A low base salary with a large annual bonus does not produce a low support number just because the bonus arrives once a year.
Irregular pay makes the drafting harder. Support orders need a method that works when the bonus swings from year to year, so gather several years of pay records, not your most recent stub.
Equity Needs the Paperwork
For restricted stock, options and similar awards, the useful documents are the grant agreements and the plan itself. Grant dates, vesting dates and the marriage dates all matter, and so does what the plan allows. Some awards cannot simply be transferred, which affects how a settlement can be structured.
Before you negotiate, list every grant with its dates and terms. A settlement that trades away an award nobody priced is hard to repair later. For more depth, see our guide to executive compensation in divorce.
Collin County, Usually
Most of Plano lies in Collin County, where cases go to the courthouse at 2100 Bloomdale Road in McKinney. A northwestern portion lies in Denton County, whose courts sit at 1450 East McKinney Street in Denton. Your address decides, and the 90-day county residency rule in § 6.301 applies either way.
Lisa G. Garza is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The firm's offices are in Dallas and McKinney.
Common Questions
Is my annual bonus counted for child support in Texas?
Yes. Texas Family Code section 154.062 includes bonuses in the net resources used to calculate support.
Is my unvested stock community property?
It depends on the award, its dates and the plan terms. Gather the grant agreements and plan documents, and have a lawyer review them against the dates of your marriage.
Which courthouse handles a Plano divorce?
Usually Collin County, at 2100 Bloomdale Road in McKinney. A northwestern part of Plano is in Denton County, so check your address.