Austin Texas Family Law Blog

The rate of marital dissolution appears to be on a downward trajectory across the United States, including in Texas. Research shows that divorce has receded during the past three decades. However, it remains enough of a challenge today that young adults especially are putting marriage on hold longer.

According to research, 40% of people's first marriages end in marital breakups, and this figure is 60% for second marriages. Many young adults appear to be apprehensive about divorcing after experiencing their parents' divorces firsthand. For this reason, they have a greater likelihood of remaining unmarried and instead cohabiting compared with other age groups. Unfortunately, researchers said that this can actually increase a person's chances of getting divorced in the future.

Getting ready to tie the knot with the love of your life is certainly an exciting time. You may be trying to nail down final details about the big day and ensuring that everything will go as you hope. Of course, you know that you cannot predict the future and that unexpected events could happen at any time, but you do your best to prepare for those moments nonetheless.

Because you want to be prepared for certain possibilities, you have likely thought about creating a prenuptial agreement. If you are hesitating to bring up this subject with your soon-to-be spouse, it is understandable. After all, you do not want him or her to take the idea the wrong way and feel as if you do not trust your future spouse or that you expect the marriage to end.

Many households in Texas include married couples where one person is a U.S. citizen and the other is not. In fact, many immigrants use their marriages as bases to apply for green cards. Sometimes, the U.S. government suspects married couples of fraud, meaning they entered marriage for the sole purpose of helping the non-citizen spouse obtain permanent residency in the United States. Couples whose relationships are legitimate may also still encounter legal status challenges, especially if they later divorce.

If an immigrant's eligibility for a green card is based on marriage and that marriage is dissolved, he or she may be at risk for deportation. However, in certain circumstances, the spouse in question may still qualify for a waiver. For instance, if deportation would create extreme hardship, it may be possible to avoid removal.

When two people in Texas decide to get divorced, it is not uncommon for one party to fear that the other party is hiding assets. Unfortunately, many spouses do not know where to start when it comes to discovering concealed community property. Here are a couple of red flags that may indicate that a soon-to-be-ex is hiding assets that are subject to division during a divorce proceeding.

First, the future ex-spouse may develop a sudden passion for antiques or art. In this situation, it might be helpful to begin investigating what these new collectibles are truly worth. The reality is, some spouses might claim that they stumbled across mostly worthless paintings at yard sales when they actually siphoned off money to pay for expensive pieces of art.