The divorce court can enforce or clarify the property division but cannot re-divide the house, so the choice is between finding a way to carry the loan, renting the house out, or selling it. Read the decree and check who is still on the loan before you pick one.
Imagine Dana, newly divorced in Texas. The decree is final and the house is hers. So is the mortgage, and now only her paycheck stands behind it. Half the closet is empty, the second parking spot stays open, and every budget she sketches lands in the same spot: on her income alone, she can't afford the house after divorce, at least not the way things stand.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice; a family-law attorney and a CPA can apply it to your situation.
If you kept the house in the divorce and can't afford it, the choices usually come down to three: find a way to carry the loan, rent the house out, or sell it. If your case is not final yet, different rules apply; start with our guide to selling a house in a Texas divorce, which also covers when a former spouse can force a sale after the decree.
Start with the decree: what the court can and can't change
The step Dana keeps putting off is the simplest one: reading the decree again, slowly, with a pen. It is tempting to hope a judge will take the house back or split things differently now that the payment is too much. Texas law points the other way.
Family Code Sec. 9.007 says a court may not amend, modify, alter or change the property division made or approved in the decree. An order that does is beyond the divorce court's power and is unenforceable. The court that granted the divorce does keep the power to enforce the division it made (Sec. 9.002):
- Enforce and clarify. It may render further orders to enforce the division, help carry it out or clarify it, and spell out more precisely how it is to be carried out, as long as the substance does not change (Sec. 9.006).
- Fix vague wording. If the original wording is not specific enough to enforce by contempt, it can issue a clarifying order with specific terms, and it must allow a reasonable time to comply (Sec. 9.008).
- Order delivery or damages. It can order a party to deliver specific property the decree awarded (Sec. 9.009). If a party fails to comply and delivery is no longer enough, it can render a money judgment for the damages (Sec. 9.010).
So a payment that has grown too heavy is not, by itself, a reason to re-divide the house. What matters is what your decree says. As you read, mark who was awarded the house, who must pay the mortgage, and any clause that sets a date or condition for refinancing or selling. If you find a clause like that, take it to your family-law attorney before you act, because what it requires depends on its exact words.
Your ex is still on the mortgage: what that changes
The decree gives Dana the house, but the loan papers in the drawer may tell a different story, because whose name is on the loan is a separate question. Don't assume the decree took anyone off it; ask your servicer, in writing, whose names are on the loan.
Two federal rules matter here:
- The transfer itself. Federal law bars a lender from calling a home loan due just because a divorce decree made the borrower's spouse an owner (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)), and the federal rule ties that protection to a spouse who lives in the house or will (12 CFR 191.5(b)). Our guide on whether someone can take over a mortgage covers the due-on-sale rules in more depth.
- A loan in your ex's name only. Federal servicing rules generally call a spouse who becomes an owner through a divorce decree a successor in interest (12 CFR 1024.31). Send the servicer a letter saying you may be one, with your ex's name as the borrower and enough information to identify the loan. The servicer must write back describing the documents it needs to confirm who you are and that you own the house, with a phone number for help (Sec. 1024.36(i)). Once it confirms you, those servicing rules treat you as a borrower (Sec. 1024.30(d)).
Awarded the house but can't afford the mortgage alone?
Dana's first instinct is the obvious one: get the loan into her own name, or find some way to keep paying. A refinance or a formal assumption depends on a lender approving you on your own, so ask early; our guides to assumable mortgages in Texas and taking over a mortgage explain how those approvals work.
Then put every monthly cost of the house on one page: the payment, property taxes and insurance if they aren't already in the payment, HOA dues, utilities, and money set aside for repairs. Our holding cost calculator can help you total them. If the house only works by draining savings, it is better to see that now, while you still have room to choose.
If payments are already slipping, deal with that first. Our guide for anyone behind on mortgage payments in Texas lays out the first steps, and how to stop a foreclosure in Texas covers the notices and deadlines.
Option: rent the house out
Some evenings Dana pictures a smaller place and a tenant in the old house, with the rent covering the mortgage. Keeping the house as a rental can work, but it changes three things:
- Your loan and decree. Check both before you sign a lease. The FAQ below covers renting while your ex is still on the loan.
- Your duties. The day a tenant moves in, you are a Texas landlord. Property Code Chapter 92 sets rules on repairs (Sec. 92.052), security deposit refunds (Sec. 92.103), door and window locks (Sec. 92.153) and smoke alarms (Sec. 92.255). Our guide to hiring a property manager or selling walks through them.
- Your tax clock. To get the full exclusion of gain when you sell, you generally must have lived in the house as your home for at least 24 months of the 5 years before the sale (IRS Publication 523). Rent it long enough and you can fall short of that test. Our guide to selling a rental property that was your primary residence explains the clock and depreciation.
If selling is the realistic option
When Dana lays it all out, selling may be the choice that lets her breathe again.
If you can't afford the house after divorce and renting doesn't fit, a sale settles the payment question. On the standard Texas resale contract, releasing existing liens is a seller expense paid at or before closing (TREC No. 20-19, paragraph 12A(1)(a)). When the sale pays the loan in full, neither of you owes on it anymore. Renting and refinancing both leave a loan in place; a sale can end it.
You can list with an agent or sell as-is. Listing can bring more if the house shows well and you have the time and cash for repairs. Selling as-is trades some price for less work, but it does not erase what Texas still asks of sellers; our guide to selling a house as is in Texas covers the disclosure rules.
Taxes on a house you received in a divorce
Taxes are the part Dana dreads most, so here is the plain version. These federal rules come from IRS Publication 523 (2025):
- The transfer itself. When a home is transferred to a spouse or ex-spouse as part of a divorce settlement, Pub 523 says there is generally no gain or loss and nothing to report from the transfer. The rule is different if the ex-spouse is a nonresident alien.
- Your starting basis. It is not the home's value on the day of the divorce. For a home received after July 18, 1984, it is your ex's adjusted basis if your ex owned it alone, or both half-shares added together if you owned it together.
- Ownership time. You can count the time your ex owned the home as time you owned it. You must meet the residence test on your own.
- The exclusion. If you pass Pub 523's eligibility test, which includes those ownership and residence rules, you may exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly. If you fall short, becoming divorced or legally separated while you owned and lived in the home is one of the events that can qualify a sale for a partial exclusion.
Because Texas is a community property state, Pub 523 also points you to IRS Publication 555. Bring the decree and the old closing papers to a CPA before you list, so you know your after-tax number either way.
That is where Dana stands: the decree in one hand, the loan papers in the other, weighing whether to keep paying, rent the house out or sell. None of the three is wrong. The right one is the one her budget and her decree can both support.
Selling to Cash Home Advisors
Cash Home Advisors buys houses in Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. You sell as-is, no repairs, and there are no agent commissions. We pay all closing costs.
A cash offer is usually less than the house could bring on the open market after repairs, so listing can net more if you have the time and money for it. Asking is free, no obligation, and a real person calls you back. Request a cash offer, or read how our process works first.
Frequently asked questions
Can I go back to court to change who got the house in a Texas divorce?
Generally, no. Family Code Sec. 9.007 says a court may not amend, modify, alter or change the property division made or approved in the decree, and an order that does is beyond the divorce court's power and unenforceable. The court that granted the divorce can still enforce, carry out or clarify the division without changing it (Secs. 9.002, 9.006 and 9.008). Ask a family-law attorney whether any other route is open in your case.
What if my decree sets a deadline for the house that I can't meet?
A party affected by the decree, such as your ex, can file a suit to enforce it in the court that granted the divorce (Family Code Secs. 9.001 and 9.002). That court's tools include clarifying orders, orders to deliver specific property, money judgments and, for some orders, contempt (Secs. 9.008 to 9.012). It cannot re-divide the property (Sec. 9.007). Talk to your family-law attorney before the deadline passes, because what happens next depends on your decree's exact words.
Can I rent out the house I was awarded if my ex is still on the loan?
Check your decree and your loan papers before you sign a lease. The federal rule at 12 CFR 191.5(b) bars a lender from using a due-on-sale clause because of a divorce-decree transfer to a spouse who lives in the house or will. The same rule says a lender may still enforce the clause after a later event that disqualifies a transfer from that protection, and separately bars using it because of a lease of three years or less with no option to purchase. Whether moving out and renting counts as that kind of later event for your loan is a question for your servicer and an attorney.
Sources
- Texas Family Code, Chapter 9 (Secs. 9.001, 9.002, 9.006 to 9.010 and 9.012, enforcing a property division)
- 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3, Preemption of due-on-sale prohibitions (GovInfo, 2024 edition)
- 12 CFR 191.5, Limitation on exercise of due-on-sale clauses (eCFR)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024.31 (successor in interest)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024.36(i) (potential successors in interest)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024.30(d) (confirmed successors treated as borrowers)
- Texas Property Code, Chapter 92 (Secs. 92.052, 92.103, 92.153, 92.255)
- Texas Real Estate Commission, One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC No. 20-19
- IRS Publication 523 (2025), Selling Your Home
- IRS Publication 555, Community Property
General information, not legal or tax advice. Talk to a Texas attorney or CPA about your situation.