The state of Texas is a community state, which means that you are likely entitled to half of your marital estate. However, you will need documentation to prove that an asset is part of such an estate. In most cases, you’ll use tax returns, bank statements and other financial paperwork to establish how much you should receive in a final settlement.
What will a tax return tell you?
A tax return will provide a wealth of information such as how much money the household made last year and how that income was generated. Reviewing such a document may let you know about the presence of a hidden business, bank account or brokerage account. It may also let you know if your spouse generated any gambling profits that you may be partially entitled to in a divorce case.
What will a typical financial statement tell you?
A financial statement will generally tell you how much an account is worth, the last time money was contributed to an account and the last time money was taken out of it. All of this could be used to justify your claim that you should get a portion of its value after your marriage comes to an end. It could also bolster your claim that your spouse is depleting assets or engaging in other shady activities while your case is pending.
The more information that you have at your disposal, the easier it will typically be to obtain a favorable outcome in your divorce proceeding. If you can’t obtain relevant documents prior to filing for divorce, it may be possible to obtain them as part of the discovery process.