Possibly, but not automatically, and rarely exactly half of everything. In Texas, RSUs and stock options granted during the marriage may be community property in whole or in part, even if they have not vested. The divisible share depends on when the awards were granted, what they compensate, and when they vest. Awards you earned entirely before the marriage, or that compensate for work entirely after it, generally are not community property.
If equity compensation is a meaningful part of your net worth, the marital-share calculation is what drives the financial outcome of your case. Here is how Texas treats these assets.
Are Unvested RSUs Marital Property in Texas?
They can be. Vesting is not the test; the marital community’s contribution is.
Texas law treats equity compensation as property to be characterized, and it apportions awards between separate and community property based on the period the award compensates. An RSU granted during the marriage for work performed during the marriage points toward community property, even if it vests after the divorce. An award granted before the marriage, or one that compensates future post-divorce service, points the other way, in whole or in part.
Most real grants sit in between, which is why apportionment, not all-or-nothing labels, decides these cases.
How Texas Apportions RSUs and Options: The Time-Based Approach
Texas statute provides a framework that apportions awards based on timing.
In simplified terms, the analysis compares the period from grant to vesting against the portion of that period that falls during the marriage. An award granted two years into the marriage that vests one year after divorce has both a community component and a separate component, and the calculation establishes the split.
The details matter and get contested:
- Grant dates, vesting schedules, and cliff provisions come straight from the plan documents.
- What the award compensates, past performance or future retention, affects the analysis.
- Each grant is analyzed separately. A tech employee with a dozen grants has a dozen calculations.
This is spreadsheet work built on plan documents, and the spouse who shows up with the documents and the calculation is the one whose number the negotiation starts from.
How RSUs and Options Are Actually Divided
Even when a community share is established, unvested awards usually cannot be transferred, because plan rules tie them to the employee.
Common solutions:
- The employee spouse keeps all the equity, and the other spouse receives other assets of equivalent value. Simple, but it requires valuing unvested awards, which involves assumptions.
- If, as, and when division. The decree awards the non-employee spouse a share of each grant if, as, and when it vests, with the employee spouse holding it in a constructive trust until then. This shares the risk but keeps the parties financially connected.
- Hybrids, dividing some grants and offsetting others.
Taxes belong in this conversation from the start, because RSU vesting is generally taxable to the employee, and a division that ignores the tax burden is not the division it appears to be. Bring your CPA into the planning.
Disclosure: The First Fight Is Finding Everything
Before anything is calculated, every grant has to be on the table.
Equity compensation is among the most commonly overlooked or underdisclosed assets in divorce, because it does not appear on a pay stub or a bank statement. Grant notices, plan documents, brokerage statements, and offer letters establish the full picture, and formal discovery can compel them. If disclosure has been slow or selective, the same tactics that hide other assets apply to equity, and the same tools reach it.
Where This Fits in the Bigger Property Case
Equity compensation rarely travels alone.
It sits alongside retirement accounts with their own valuation and transfer rules, and often alongside business interests and deferred compensation, all governed by the same community property framework.
For executives and professionals whose estates are built on these assets, this is the core of the property case, and often of the entire high net worth divorce.
Talk With a Collin County Divorce Lawyer About Your Equity Compensation
Whether you hold the grants or your spouse does, the outcome turns on documents and calculation, not assumptions. Get the plan documents, get the math right, and negotiate from there.
Petitt Family Law handles divorces involving equity compensation throughout Collin County, including Plano, Frisco, and Allen. Schedule a consultation with Melody Petitt, or call (469) 361-2606.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are RSUs that vest after my divorce still community property?
They can be, in part. If the award was granted during the marriage and compensates work during the marriage, a community share may exist even though vesting occurs after divorce. Apportionment establishes how much.
How are unvested stock options valued in a divorce?
Valuation involves assumptions about vesting, forfeiture risk, and share price, which is why unvested awards are often divided if, as, and when they vest rather than valued and offset. Where an offset is used, the valuation assumptions deserve scrutiny.
Does my spouse get half of my future grants after divorce?
Awards granted after divorce for post-divorce work are generally your separate property. The community claim attaches to awards connected to the marriage, not to your career going forward.
What documents do I need for the equity portion of my divorce?
Grant notices, the plan documents, vesting schedules, brokerage statements, and offer or promotion letters referencing equity. These establish the grant dates, terms, and amounts the apportionment is built on.
Who pays the taxes when divided RSUs vest?
Vesting is generally taxable to the employee spouse, so a division that ignores taxes shifts real value. Well-drafted decrees address the tax burden explicitly. Bring a CPA into the planning alongside your attorney.