Divorce is never easy, but if your spouse is engaging in underhanded tactics, you can expect it to be much worse. Sneaky divorce tactics generally fall into basic categories, and knowing what to look for can help you head off any unfair advantage your spouse may be shooting for.
If you are concerned that your spouse may engage in underhanded divorce tactics, it’s important to have an experienced Round Rock divorce attorney in your corner to protect both your parental and financial rights throughout the divorce process.
Taking Action and Putting Your Best Foot Forward
If your spouse is prepared to engage in sneaky divorce practices, you may feel the pinch from the start and be inclined to keep your head down until the whole thing blows over. While no one would blame you for inaction in the face of a situation as difficult as a messy divorce, it’s important to remember that your parental and financial rights are on the line.
Another ill-advised approach is fighting fire with fire. Stooping to your spouse’s level can backfire spectacularly. While you can count on your spouse’s actions to drag your divorce out and lead to higher costs, engaging in dirty tricks of your own is highly unlikely to result in favorable terms that uphold your rights.
Fortunately, you don’t have to face the challenging path forward alone. You can rely upon your seasoned Round Rock divorce attorney to help effectively and efficiently guide your case toward a favorable resolution that protects your rights and works for you.
A Veil of Financial Secrecy
When it comes to divorce, financial matters, such as the division of marital property, are some of the most challenging and contentious. If your spouse is more involved in your family’s financials than you are and you don’t have the skilled legal guidance you need, it can lead to an unfair property division. This problem is only exacerbated by your spouse’s dishonest dealings.
In Texas, anything you, your spouse, or both you and your spouse come to own during your marriage is considered marital property. In the event of divorce, this marital property must be divided between both spouses fairly in relation to the circumstances that apply. Fairly can mean equally, but often the division isn’t so simple.
One issue that Texas courts consider is any unfair financial practices that either spouse engages in. If you can prove that your spouse has attempted to hide assets, dissipate marital property, or keep value from you in any unfair way, you may be awarded a larger portion of the marital property.
Bank Accounts
It may seem like your household’s bank accounts are an open book, but it is very easy for creative spouses to hide money from you during the divorce process. While there is generally a paper trail when one spouse takes unfair liberties with bank accounts, the evidence will go unnoticed if no one is looking.
Look out for these common bank-bungling tactics that are far too common in divorce:
Moving money out of household accounts into new, secret accounts
Moving money out of household accounts into spots that are difficult to trace, such as cash, cryptocurrency, and financial institutions that don’t report to credit bureaus
Overpaying accounts in preparation for divorce, which ties up assets and can devalue the marital estate
In the end, your savvy Round Rock divorce attorney knows the tell-tale signs of underhanded divorce tactics and will employ the services necessary, such as forensic accounting, to ensure that your marital assets are well accounted for.
Doling out Assets
Another less-than-fair technique often employed by underhanded spouses in divorce is transferring assets to family members, friends, or anyone who will go along with these plans until after the divorce is finalized. Transferring funds to other people without telling a spouse is never a great look, but when it happens in the buildup to divorce, the judge is very likely to disapprove.
Transferring assets is another practice that can often be monitored through bank account activity. However, some crafty spouses begin the process of siphoning off funds well before the divorce process even begins – starting small and increasing the amount taken over time. If you notice your spouse making consistent withdrawals on transfers, take notice.
If you catch your spouse in the act of distributing marital assets in order to keep them from you, you can file a wasting of community funds claim and ask for the amount to be awarded back to the marital estate to be divided fairly between you. If the court finds that your spouse’s trickery is especially egregious, it can award you a larger slice of your marital assets in response.
Using the Family Business as a Tool
If you run a family business and your spouse is more involved with the financial end of things than you are, it’s a great opportunity for him or her to get creative with the books as you head toward divorce.
A business’s finances are generally far more complex than those related to running a home, and as a result, there is more room for financial monkey business. The more transactions that take place, the more opportunities there are to engage in sneaky practices that can be difficult to identify without careful analysis.
Even sinking money into the business can disappear assets that may not be immediately reflected in the business valuation. This practice can diminish the marital estate and translates to less for you.
The Business Valuation
Another important aspect of business ownership in relation to divorce is the valuation process.
If your spouse is more involved in the business than you are, you may be inclined to accept the valuation amount your ex lands on, but it’s important to remember that he or she is motivated to keep that amount low. Further, the spouse running the business can take actions that temporarily reduce its value and, in turn, reflect directly on the property division in your case.
If you’re not convinced that your spouse is on the up and up in relation to your family business, skilled forensic accounting is always advised.
Taking Action
If your divorce involves a family business, follow these guidelines to avoid or detect any nefarious financial tactics:
Address the issue as soon as you recognize that divorce is on the horizon.
Work closely with a practiced divorce attorney who has an impressive range of experience handling cases involving business ownership.
Assess the business’s financial documents as soon as you can get your hands on them and go through the information with a fine-tooth comb.
While you may not be a legal professional or a forensic accountant, you are familiar with your family business, and your input will help guide your attorney and forensic accountant’s investigation into the inner workings of the enterprise.
More Financial Sleight of Hand
Other business-related practices we often see spouses engage in to skew the division of marital assets in divorce include the following behaviors:
Making a major business purchase that limits cash flow but doesn’t increase the business’s overall value, such as a vehicle
Paying legal fees ahead of time in an attempt to fly under the financial radar
Paying taxes early for the same reason
Using Parental Alienation to Skew Child Custody Arrangements
If your divorce involves children, your child custody arrangements are another primary concern, and protecting your right to ample parenting time is key. While you may not think your spouse is above financial shenanigans, parental alienation might seem out of the question. Unfortunately, the stress of divorce and the desire to maintain control can push some spouses beyond limits no one dreamed they’d cross.
Parental Alienation
Parental alienation is considered a form of child abuse, and the motivation behind it is turning the children against the parent being alienated. Children need the unconditional love of both parents, and brainwashing a child into doubting one parent’s devotion is a cruel undertaking that should never be tolerated.
Parental alienation occurs on a spectrum that can range from very subtle to outrageous. Regardless of the form it takes, this unsavory practice is exceptionally harmful to children.
You know your children well, so you’re attuned to small changes in their behavior and emotional well-being and will likely pick up on the early signs of parental alienation, which tend to include pulling away, exhibiting fear around you, or making negative comments about you that sound practiced and out of character.
Letting your attorney know about your suspicions allows him or her to take necessary precautions with the court, ensure that the abuse ends, and get help for your children. As parental alienation is better understood, Texas courts are taking a more proactive approach. Judges disapprove of parental alienation and are duty-bound to uphold the best interests of children who are harmed by it.
Common Forms of Parental Alienation
While parental alienation can take many forms, some of the most common include the following behaviors:
Bad-mouthing or openly disrespecting the other parent in front of the children
Using the children as a sounding board to blame the other parent for the divorce
Limiting the amount of time the children spend with the other parent, including flouting temporary custody orders
Cutting off the lines of communication between the children and their other parent
Enlisting the children as spies against the other parent
Causing the children to fear their other parent
Not allowing the children to display – or even have – photos or mementos of their other parent when at the home of the alienating parent
Engaging in inappropriate sharing with the children
Convincing the children that their other parent doesn’t love them
When parental alienation isn’t identified and called out, it can directly affect child custody arrangements. For example, when children are considered mature enough to voice a preference regarding child custody, Texas courts generally listen. While a child’s preference isn’t the determinative factor, it can tip the scales in the decision-making process.
If you believe your spouse is engaging in parental alienation, it’s time to bring the matter to the attention of your accomplished Round Rock divorce attorney.
False Accusations
Just when you thought you’d seen it all, another dirty divorce trick rears its ugly head. Some people are not above making false accusations in divorce. False accusations can be motivated by a desire to steer things in a certain direction, exact revenge on a soon-to-be ex, control the narrative, or accomplish any other goal.
When a spouse accuses the other of wrongdoing during the divorce process, he or she accepts the burden of proof.
While the vast majority of divorces in Texas are no fault, some are based on fault, such as adultery. When a divorce is granted on the grounds of adultery, it can directly affect the division of marital assets and alimony. In other words, paying attention to false accusations is important.
In addition to adultery, these other accusations are often flung around during divorce:
Child abuse
Child neglect
Financial wrongdoing
Addiction or substance abuse
Having to defend yourself against false accusations in the middle of an arduous divorce is painful, time-consuming, and costly. Additionally, such accusations can affect your reputation and social standing.
Shutting down false accusations as quickly as possible is critical, and while courts must look into potential risk factors that could affect children, they also take a very strong position when it comes to false accusations. Your trusted Round Rock divorce attorney is well prepared to help.
Seek the Legal Guidance of an Experienced Round Rock Divorce Attorney Today
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard in Round Rock, Texas, has decades of impressive experience successfully guiding divorces involving underhanded dealings toward optimal outcomes that uphold his clients’ financial and parental rights.
Learn more about what we can do to help you by reaching out to contact us online or call us at (254) 781-4222 to schedule your FREE consultation today.