Divorce is one of the most complicated and emotional life events a person can experience. It becomes even more challenging when dividing assets, especially those with both financial and sentimental value.
Firearms fall into this category. Most guns are worth a few hundred dollars, while high-end models can cost thousands. Beyond their monetary value, they often hold deep personal meaning.
Guns serve as tools for hunting, self-defense, and target shooting. But they can also be family heirlooms or part of a carefully built collection. That’s why you may be worried about what happens to your firearms during a divorce.
No, the courts won’t ignore them. Your guns won’t just slip under the radar.
So, what happens to your firearms in Texas when your marriage ends?
We’re going to answer that question in this article.
Firearms as Marital Property in Texas
Texas operates under community property laws. This means that any possessions or assets that were acquired during a marriage are considered to be jointly owned by a married couple. They are therefore subject to division if the marriage ever ends.
This includes firearms, so any guns that were purchased during your marriage are considered to be joint property. It doesn’t matter whether the two of you purchased the firearm together or if one of you was gifted the gun by a friend or family member. The firearm will therefore be ‘subject to division’, just like how your house, vehicles, and financial accountants will be.
Gifts and Firearms: Are They Still Community Property?
For example, many married couples acquire firearms during their marriage for self-defense purposes. Let’s say that at one point during your marriage, your spouse purchased you a Smith & Wesson .38 revolver for concealed carry and gifted you it over Christmas. Even though this Smith & Wesson .38 was gifted to you to be used by you, since it was acquired during your marriage, it’s legally both you and your spouse’s property.
Proving a Firearm Is Separate Property
The only exception is if you can prove your firearm is separate property. This means you purchased or inherited it before marriage. In that case, it won’t be divided—but you must provide clear proof, such as firearm registration records, inheritance papers, receipts, or invoices.
First, the court will determine whether the firearms were owned before marriage or acquired during it. Any guns classified as separate property stay with their original owner. The rest will be divided.
How Texas Courts Divide Firearms in a Divorce
In Texas, the courts in this case are going to aim for a fair division, but not necessarily an equal division. For instance, depending on what you and your spouse work out, one of you may get to keep all the guns while the other receives assets that are equivalent in value. Alternatively, the firearms may be appraised, and if you and your spouse can’t agree on who gets what, the court may order you to sell the firearms and split the proceeds.
This leads us into our next subject…
Understand how Texas divorce firearms laws impact gun ownership—what’s divided, what’s separate, and who keeps what.
Valuing Firearms in Divorce Settlements
This is where things can get somewhat tricky. The guns in your home don’t exactly have a price tag on them, and there’s a good chance they could be worth higher or lower now than what they were originally.
There are two kinds of value to think about when it comes to guns:
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Market value, or what the gun is worth if it were to be sold
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Sentimental value, or what the gun means to you personally
If your grandfather handed you down a rifle, you likely want to keep it for its sentimental value. If you received it before marriage, it’s legally yours.
However, if you inherited it during your marriage, Texas law considers it joint property. In this case, you’ll need a professional firearm appraisal, and one of two things will happen:
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You and your spouse agree that you can keep the rifle. In exchange, they receive other firearms or assets of equal value.
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You can’t agree, so the rifle is sold, and you split the proceeds.
Since the rifle holds deep sentimental value for you, the first option is the better outcome.
So Who Gets To Keep The Guns?
Now we come to the big question that you’ve been waiting for.
Just so there’s no confusion based on what we’ve gone over so far, here’s a final series of points that will answer this question for you:
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If you and your spouse bought or inherited guns during your marriage, the guns are considered joint property and guns (or their value) will be divided accordingly. It doesn’t matter whether the gun was bought or gifted for or otherwise intended for only one of you. There are three possible ways this plays out:
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You and your spouse will divide the guns equally so that the value of the guns is equal between you two.
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If it is agreed that one spouse receives all or more of the guns, the other spouse will receive alternative joint assets of equal value (or vice versa).
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If you and your spouse cannot agree who gets to keep what guns, they will be sold and the proceeds split evenly between you two.
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If one spouse purchased or inherited a gun before the marriage, it is considered separate property in Texas and is the property of that spouse, and is therefore not subject to be divided.
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The spouses must agree who specifically gets to keep what guns for any guns that are joint property. If the spouses cannot work it out one-on-one, the decision will come down to negotiating.
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If either spouse has any history of abuse or domestic violence, the courts will intervene to make sure that spouse has no firearms in their possessions. Under current Texas law, convicted domestic abusers cannot legally own firearms.
Conclusion
The biggest factor in determining what happens to your firearms in a divorce is when you acquired them. If you owned a gun before marriage, it remains yours. If you and your spouse bought firearms during the marriage, you must either divide them or sell them and split the proceeds.
