Divorce Decree details...public record?

[adventurer]

Is a Texas divorce decree and financial details public record?

Can creditors 'easily' access the decree details?


If I DO NOT BK, and I do transfer assets to a relative, how can the assets

a) be reversed...no BK court involved

or even be located?

b) be attached or have a lien....as there are no assets under my ss#


Thank you

[HHM]

You know, you really shouldn't be asking us in such an obvious way about committing fraud.

Asset planning is one thing, which is a type of planning "in case" you have problems in the future, but trying to figure out ways to save assets "after" you have problems (or if financial problems are a foregone conclusion) is fraud (not just BK fraud).

However, I don't know specifically about TX, but Divorce Decrees are generally not public record. And depending on how mean your divorce is, your EX could be a wealth of potentional information to a creditor.

Asset location is a fairly sophisticated art form now. However, the easiest way is to simply depose you. Most states allow what is called a Judgment Creditor's Exam, which is basically a deposition (under oath). Once a creditor gets a judgment against you, they can request you turn over all sorts of documents and depose you under oath...if you do not comply, you can be held in contempt of court; many states allow for arrest warrants to be issued if you are held in contempt, and your bail can be set as high as the amount of the judgment.

Thus, you are put in the position of having to commit perjury to continue your fraud.

If it is determined that you transfered assets with the intention of avoiding creditors, then the transactions can be undone by court order.

However, what I presented you is the worst case scenario (it usually occurs in business collections, and not so much in consumer collections, but it is possible).

Based on your other posts, you might as well go down the BK road, or figure out some other way to deal with this debt. Trying to become judgment proof is not a real solution, it only delays the inevitable. At some point, you will be forced to deal with it...even with statute of limitations, these debts will follow you around for the next 10+ years. Is that what you really want?

[Spartan]

I think there may be solutions. But if you are doing this just to defrault creditors, then I am with HHM on this.

Hiding assets is very difficult. There is a whole industry in helping judgement holders to sniff out and locate hidden assets. Besides, they can just put you underoath, as well as summon your ex to testify. As soon as the judgement is entered against you, you will be asked to disclose all your assets and sources and amount of income. Failure to comply can result in civil contempt of court. If you lie, then that is perjury. Yike!


If you got screwed and are trying to protect yourself and your family, then there may be ways to restructure your assets making them extremely inconvenient for the creditors to seize, and thus enabling you to negotiate a settlement.

[CindyLou]

actually divorce records are public. When I did my divorce I went to the courthouse in Houston, where I lived at the time and simply asked to review a few files from recent divorces. I was allowed to have them copied for 10 cents a page. The only thing I could not get was any file containing information about children. I used the decrees to do my own divorce pro se. So far I've done my divorce and a chp. 7 bk. Who needs attorneys???

[adventurer]

I am not trying to hide assets as I cannot live always looking over my shoulder about the law.

It is just that most of these assets are not worth the significant expense of putting them into an irrevocable trust or ??? any other ideas ???

I am trying to conserve what little cash I have left as seed money for a new life.

[emoney]

Without going BK what you are talking about is the "Fraudulent Transfer of Assets". Most states have adopted a uniform act that allows creditors to reverse transfers that fall into this group.
Generally speaking acts that you have an intent to avoid creditors and evade payment are covered and can be reversed. An example of giving away something of value to a friend or selling it for less than its fair market value are simple examples.
Planning for problems before they are know or aware of a lawsuit potential can be done, but not afterward.
For more information this law can be downloaded for your state using Google.
Thanks,
emoney

[Spartan]

What if she converts the non exempt assets to exempt assets? Conceivably, she can sell off the limited partnership and buy a house with the proceed. OR, she can create a limited partnership with her relatives and contribute the assets to partnership. The creditors can still get a charging order for the distributions, but the limited partnership can be structured that distribution has to be by unanimous consent of the partners. That just defers the distributions into the far future, while the creditors with the charging order are stuck with the annual tax bill. That gives her a strong hand in negotiating a favourable settlement. All these have been done before.

In some states, you can pursue this as long as there is no lawsuit or no judgement entered against you. In others, just the mere knowledge of foreseeable claim would render the convertion a fraudulent conveyance. I don't know the specific Texas statutes...

I would definitely consult attorneys specializing in asset protection....