Opinion ID: 1786539
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: application of the wife

Text: Dorothy Cockerham contends the trial court's division of the property was so dis-proportionate as to be manifestly unjust and amounted to an abuse of discretion. Her main complaint is that the trial court awarded the 198-acre homestead tract and all the household furniture to her husband. Other than this, all of the community property was divided equally, subject to the community debts. It is well established that the trial court has wide discretion in the division of property on divorce and it will be disturbed only when an abuse of discretion is shown. Section 3.63; Hailey v. Hailey, 160 Tex. 372, 331 S.W.2d 299 (1960); Hedtke v. Hedtke, 112 Tex. 404, 248 S.W. 21 (1923). Considering the record before us, we are unable to say the trial court abused its discretion. We hold that the husband did not make a gift of an undivided one-half interest in his separate property interest in the 320-acre tract to the wife; that the 320-acre tract is one-half the separate property of the husband and one-half the community property of the husband and the wife; that a tenancy in common exists on the 320-acre tract between the undivided one-half community property interest and the undivided one-half separate property interest of the husband; that the undivided one-half community property interest in the 320-acre tract was under the joint management of the husband and the wife and is subject to the dress shop debts; that the dairy business was community property under the joint management of the husband and the wife and is liable for the dress shop debts; that the dress shop debts are joint obligations rendering the husband's separate property interest in the 320 acres liable for these obligations; that the bankruptcy creditors and the community creditors have an equal right to be satisfied out of the community property; that the trial court erred in disregarding the jury's answer regarding the status of the property allegedly given by the wife to DeRay Houston and the courts below erred in ordering a reduction in the wife's share of the community property in the sum of $9,658.57; and that the trial court's division of the property was not so disproportionate as to amount to an abuse of discretion. The judgment of the court of civil appeals is accordingly affirmed in part and reversed and rendered in part in accordance with this opinion. The case is further remanded to the trial court for determination, pursuant to Section 5.62, of the order in which the property of the parties shall be subject to execution. Dissenting opinion by REAVLEY, J., in which GREENHILL, C. J. and WALKER, J., joined.