Texas is a community property jurisdiction for divorce purposes. This means everything you and your spouse own is likely marital property you must divide during your divorce. If you cannot reach an acceptable agreement, a judge may weigh certain factors to decide how to distribute marital property.
Unfortunately, if your spouse wants an unfair advantage, he or she may try to hide marital assets in the lead-up to your divorce. While there are many ways to do so, three deceptive tactics are common.
1. Making gifts or loans
To avoid giving you what you deserve, your spouse may make gifts or loans to friends, family members, business associates, charitable organizations or others. Even if the recipient repays the money, you may not be able to access it. That is, the repayment may come long after your divorce concludes.
2. Delaying earnings
Your spouse may own a business, have unpaid commissions or otherwise expect to receive funds. Provided your spouse earned these funds during your marriage, they are probably part of the marital estate. Still, if your husband or wife is able to delay receiving earnings, you may miss out on a share of them. A forensic accountant may be helpful in uncovering this type of scheme.
3. Spending recklessly
If your soon-to-be ex-spouse cannot have an asset, he or she may not want you to have it either. While some parts of the marital estate are difficult to waste, your spouse may quickly and easily blow through a considerable amount of cash.
You do not have to stand idly by while your husband or wife squanders your post-divorce wealth. If your spouse is spending recklessly or otherwise cheating you out of what you deserve, you can likely take legal steps to stop the behavior.