Asset Tracing

During a divorce, asset tracing services may be needed for a variety of reasons. Two of the most common are to find hidden assets and to prove that certain property belonging to one spouse is a spouse's separate property as distinguished from community property.

Hidden Assets

An increasingly vital part of a sophisticated family law practice is the ability to trace assets that may have been hidden by a spouse prior to a divorce. Contrary to popular opinion, hiding assets isn’t just for the wealthy. Anyone can have a rainy day account that is not mentioned in the divorce proceedings. Almost any asset can be found, no matter how creatively it has been hidden. Bank statements, canceled checks and tax returns can all contain clues to the location of hidden assets.

Finding hidden assets may mean the difference between financial stability and a lifetime of struggle for you and your children. If you suspect that your spouse has hidden assets that he or she has not disclosed KoonsFuller attorneys can help to uncover them and bring them into the pool of assets to be divided.

Separate Property

Properly characterizing property during a divorce proceeding is extremely important,

because under Texas law a court can only divide community property. In almost all circumstances separate property is not divisible by the court in a divorce.

Proving that an asset is separate property after many years of marriage and commingled accounts can be difficult. The party who is claiming that property is separate property has the burden to prove by "clear and convincing evidence" that property is separate property rather than community property. At KoonsFuller, we are experts at tracing assets back to their roots to determine their proper characterization.