Separate Property

Separate property is owned 100% by the acquiring spouse. On death, all of it (not half) passes per the will or intestacy statute. Distinguishing community from separate is a recurring battle in Texas mineral curative — and the answer often determines whether the surviving spouse keeps a 50% community share or gets nothing.

Separate property in mineral title most commonly arises through inherited interests. Grandfather conveyed the minerals to his son before the son married; those minerals remained the son's separate property even after marriage. A subsequent oil and gas lease executed by the son alone is valid — no spousal joinder needed for separate property.

Tracing separate property through a marriage is hard. Comingling separate funds with community funds in a single account can convert the separate funds to community by transmutation. For minerals, the test usually focuses on the source of acquisition rather than later management — but every state's rule is slightly different.