After completing a bachelor of arts in English at the University of Texas, Matthew Obermeier studied law at St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, earning a juris doctor in 2008. Since 2016, Matthew Obermeier has been a partner in Oliva, Saks, Garcia and Curiel, LLP, a Texas-based law firm focusing on real estate litigation and family law.
In family law, divorce is one of the most common situations faced by clients. Around 50 percent of marriages end in divorce, affecting a couple’s financial obligations, including student loans. Texas is a community property state, so when couples file for divorce, their assets, as well as their debts, are divided and distributed evenly. However, in the case of student loans, the distribution is dependent on whether the loan is classified as separate property or marital property.
The Texas Family Code identifies an asset as separate property if a spouse acquired it as a gift or inheritance, obtained it prior to his or her marriage, or incurred it from a personal injury case during the marriage. Debts are evaluated similarly. For a student loan to qualify as separate property, proof must be presented that the debt existed before the marriage. Otherwise, both spouses will share the debt equally.
