Re: Copyright Ownership in Community Property States

On 5/4/99, Wes Cochran <xpjwc[_at_]ttacs.ttu.edu> wrote:
>
> I must have been thinking of California's rule.
>
> At any rate, the equity problem still exists in Texas with the very
> limited provisions for post-divorce spousal support. The Rodrigue case
> would allow the creating spouse to leave with the copyright ownership
> of all of the works created during the marriage as his or her separate
> property. The non-creating spouse in Texas could have spousal support
> only under limited conditions (maximum limit of 3 years for a homemaker
> for the purpose of making him or her self-supporting). As I indicated
> earlier, a judge would probably allow for support for a spouse returning
> to school to earn a college degree, but I doubt that a judge would
> approve support simply on the basis of equity because the creating
> spouse wrote three or four novels that will earn a six-figure royalty
> payment over the next five years.

I'm no expert in Texas marital property law, but I do have an expert to consult. I just confirmed my recollection from many years ago that the separate/community property distinction means a great deal more in probate than it does in a divorce proceeding. In divorce, the judge has tremendous discretion to split property as she deems to be just and equitable; as I understand it, the judge in a divorce proceeding can ignore the distinction except in the case of real estate.

John Allison
allisonj[_at_]mail.utexas.edu Received on Tue May 04 1999 - 16:21:12 GMT