According to the Texas Family Code, Sec. 3.002, Texas is a community property state, meaning that all assets and possessions acquired during the marriage belong to both you and your spouse, and that during divorce, those assets and possessions will be subject to equal division, no matter which spouse 'earned' or 'acquired' the property in the first place. Furthermore, Texas law works under the assumption that all assets are community property, unless one or both individuals can provide clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. During a Texas divorce, one or both spouses may find the community property law to be unfair, and may try to misappropriate their own individual assets so that when the time for property division comes, those assets will be squarely hidden away and therefore, free from scrutiny. These assets are referred to as 'hidden assets,' and hiding assets during a Texas divorce can place in individual in contempt of court, and subject them to charges of perjury and fraud.
Ways an Individual May Try to Hide an Asset
If you are going through a divorce in the State of Texas, it would be in your best interest to take stock of everything that you and your spouse accumulated during marriage, and to have strict records of everything from your financial accounts to your debts. When you are familiar with what you should have, it makes it much easier to spot what is missing. With that in mind, if you start to notice large withdrawals from your joint bank account, the complete closing of an account, or that certain valuables are going missing throughout your home, your spouse may be trying to hide some of your assets. Some ways in which an individual may try to hide marital assets include:
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