HB1916

Regular Session

Relating to the jurisdiction of a court in a suit to divide certain property not divided or awarded on the dissolution of a marriage.

LowStandard timeline

Low Cost

Effective:2025-06-20

Enforcing Agencies

Texas Trial Courts (Court of Original Jurisdiction)

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Effective immediately upon signature/filing).
Compliance Deadline: June 20, 2025. The law applies retrospectively to any suit pending in a trial court on this date.
Agency Rulemaking: None. This is a judicial procedure statute; no regulatory agency will issue clarifying rules.

Immediate Action Plan

Audit Pending Litigation: Immediately review all active suits involving post-divorce asset claims. If a case is pending in a court other than the original divorce court, instruct outside counsel to file a Motion to Transfer Venue.
Update QDRO Checklists: Modify internal benefits checklists to include a "Jurisdiction Verification" step—rejecting orders from non-originating courts until validated by legal counsel.
Notify External Counsel: Issue a directive to your litigation firms ensuring they are aware of HB 1916’s immediate application to pending dockets to prevent waiver of venue arguments.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Settlement Agreements: Any settlement regarding an owner's equity resulting from a post-divorce dispute must be filed in the court of original jurisdiction. Filing in a different county renders the order vulnerable to collateral attack.
Buy-Sell Agreements: While the agreements themselves do not require amendment, the "Dispute Resolution" or "Venue" clauses in spousal consent forms are now superseded by this statute regarding marital property division.

Hiring/Training

Benefits Administration (HR): Staff processing Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) must be trained to verify that the court issuing the order is the same court that granted the original divorce.
Legal Department: In-house counsel must update litigation intake procedures to cross-reference the venue of any new property suit against the venue of the original divorce decree on file.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Decree Retention: For C-Suite executives and partners, the company must retain a copy of the *original* divorce decree. You must be able to validate the "Court of Continuing Exclusive Jurisdiction" immediately upon receipt of a subpoena or order.

Fees & Costs

Litigation Costs: Short-term potential increase in legal spend to file Motions to Transfer Venue for pending cases filed in the wrong court. Long-term reduction in venue dispute costs.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

"Undivided" vs. "Undervalued": The statute applies to property "not divided or awarded." It does not define the threshold. A spouse may claim an asset was "undivided" (triggering this venue rule), while the business owner argues it was "awarded" but valued at zero. Expect judicial inconsistency until appellate courts define whether "catch-all" clauses in original decrees preclude the application of this statute.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsFamily Family--marriage Relationship Property Interests Property Interests--personal Property Property Interests--real Property Divorce

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1916

By: Cook

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Upon a final divorce decree, a former spouse's undivided, jointly owned property ceases to be community property, and both former spouses become joint owners or tenants of the undivided property. The bill author has informed the committee that there is a lack of clarity about court jurisdiction when a former spouse wants to partition the property that was not divided or awarded in the final decree and that current law needs to be updated to address this. H.B. 1916 seeks to do so by clarifying that the court that rendered the final divorce decree and previously had jurisdiction in dividing the property has exclusive jurisdiction in cases brought regarding the remaining undivided property.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1916 amends the Family Code to establish that a court that rendered a final decree of divorce or annulment or another final order dividing property after the legal dissolution of a marriage retains continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to render an order to divide property not divided or awarded to a spouse in the final decree. The bill applies to a suit that is pending in a trial court on the bill's effective date or that is filed on or after that date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

House Authors

Rep. David CookRepublican · Primary Author

Joint Authors

Senate Sponsor

Sen. Judith ZaffiriniDemocrat · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

H.B. No. 1916

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the jurisdiction of a court in a suit to divide certain
	property not divided or awarded on the dissolution of a marriage.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 9.201, Family Code, is amended by adding
	Subsection (c) to read as follows:
	(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
	the court that rendered a final decree of divorce or annulment or
	another final order dividing property under this title retains
	continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to render an order under this
	subchapter to divide property not divided or awarded to a spouse in
	the final decree.
	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies to a
	suit to divide property not divided or awarded to a spouse in a
	final decree of divorce or annulment that is pending in a trial
	court on the effective date of this Act or that is filed on or after
	that date.
	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


March 20, 2025

TO:	Honorable Jeff Leach, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	HB1916 by Cook (Relating to the jurisdiction of a court in a suit to divide certain property not divided or awarded on the dissolution of a marriage.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

It is assumed that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council

LBB Staff:

JMc, KDw, JPa

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about HB1916

What does Texas HB1916 do?

HB 1916 mandates that the court which rendered the original divorce decree retains continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over any subsequent suits to divide assets omitted from that decree. This legislation eliminates forum shopping for post-divorce disputes involving business equity, stock options, or retirement benefits; if a suit regarding "undivided" corporate assets is filed in a new venue, it is subject to dismissal or transfer. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Effective immediately upon signature/filing).

Who authored HB1916?

HB1916 was authored by Texas Representative David Cook during the Regular Session.

When was HB1916 signed into law?

HB1916 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce HB1916?

HB1916 is enforced by Texas Trial Courts (Court of Original Jurisdiction).

How urgent is compliance with HB1916?

The compliance urgency for HB1916 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of HB1916?

The cost impact of HB1916 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does HB1916 address?

HB1916 addresses topics including family, family--marriage relationship, property interests, property interests--personal property and property interests--real property.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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