Each state, including Texas, sets its own child support guidelines that the family courts use to determine how much one parent should pay the other parent for child support. Child support is supposed to cover all the basic needs of the child – including shelter, food, and clothing. There are certain expenses for children, however, that are not automatically included in a standard child support order. One of these expenses is for education.

Education Costs

Most parents can attest to how expensive education costs have become. It is not only tuition payments, if the child attends private school or daycare programs, but even the costs for children who attend public schools can be hefty. School expenses for children can include:

• School clothes

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In our prior post, we discussed the red flags to watch for that could mean your spouse is committing financial fraud in order to prevent you from getting your fair share of marital assets in your divorce. In this post, we will talk about some of the steps your divorce attorney can take to make sure your spouse is not successful in his or her attempt to hide assets from you.

What to Do If You Suspect Financial Fraud in Your Divorce

Having a seasoned divorce attorney advocating for you is critical when it comes to protecting your rights in a divorce, especially when a couple has substantial assets, like the family home, bank accounts, retirement accounts, pensions, and more. During the divorce process, each party must complete financial affidavits that list their monthly income, assets, debts, and monthly expenses. These documents are filed under the penalty of perjury, however, that caveat does not always deter a spouse who is determined to commit financial fraud.

In addition to the financial affidavits, additional financial information can be requested by each side during the discovery process, however, there really is no way to know if the other party is providing all of the information requested. If you suspect your spouse is attempting to hide assets, there are steps that your divorce attorney can take to uncover that fraud, such as hiring a forensic accountant.

As many people who have gone through a divorce can attest, when a couple has decided to end their marriage, the relationship between the two of them is usually pretty strained. Often, there is anger, frustration, hurt, and other emotions that can make it difficult to communicate with each other in order to negotiate a satisfactory divorce settlement. There can also be strong feelings of distrust, especially if one of the spouses was having an affair or engaged in some other behavior that leaves the other spouse feeling betrayed. This contentiousness can lead to financial fraud by one spouse in an effort to deny the other spouse their fair share of the marital estate.

In this post we will address the warning signs to watch out for that could indicate your spouse is committing financial fraud. In our next post, we will discuss some of the steps you can take to make sure your best interests are protected.

Signs of Financial Fraud

In some situations, the spouse may have taken steps to hide assets even while the couple was still together. In addition to hiding assets to avoid making them part of any property division settlement, they may also hide assets to avoid paying their fair share in child support or alimony payments.

Not every married couple who decides they do not want to live with their spouse files for divorce. There are couples who make the decision to separate either before or instead of filing for divorce. There are several reasons why this may be more beneficial than immediately filing for divorce. The following is a brief overview of what some of the benefits are, however, an Austin family lawyer from our firm can evaluate your situation to see which option is the right one for you.

Reasons for Separating

When a couple is separated and no longer living together, they are still legally married even if they are living apart. They may be living entirely separate lives; however, neither spouse is free to marry anyone else. However, there are benefits this separation can offer a couple.

The couple can continue to enjoy some financial benefits living apart instead of divorcing. For example, if one spouse covers the other spouse under their employer’s health insurance, this arrangement could continue indefinitely if the couple is separated. If the couple divorced, the insured spouse would no longer be covered.

Usually, when two people marry and then decide that it was a mistake, they simply file for divorce. However, in some situations, they opt instead for an annulment. There are many reasons that someone chooses to obtain an annulment, but it is important to realize the requirements are very strict. While divorce is easier to get, there are situations where an annulment may be the better choice for you, especially if there was some kind of fraud involved and you have substantial assets which could be at risk under Texas community property laws.

Requirements for an Annulment

There are only certain grounds that a person can use to file for an annulment under Texas law:

• One of the parties to the marriage was underage and did not obtain a parent’s consent

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