Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

I am 52 been married 33 years now seperated with spouse paying my expenses and I live in the house, asked if i would sign titles to travel trailer and his pickup so that he can trade them in no talk of divorce yet.. NEED, best advice ANY knowledge would be appreciared so much..

QUESTION Should i sign? If he puts the new cars only in his name would i lose some rights?


Asked on 3/27/11, 8:35 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Fran Brochstein Attorney & Mediator

I would not sign anything.

Please be aware that I have never met you & I have not talked to you so you cannot rely on this advice as legal advice. I'm just giving you some "COMMON SENSE ADVICE".

You are married & if you sign anything NOW, then you are voluntarily giving up your ownership in these assets.

If you divorce at a later date & you don't own anything (like a car or any "property") at the time the divorce is filed, then the judge won't have any "property" to divide in the divorce.

Under Texas law, the judge cannot go back and "fix" things that you voluntarily signed years or months earlier!

Also, you cannot claim at the time of the divorce that he "forced" you to sign these papers or that you were mentally unstable! You need to understand that a judge can only follow Texas law. And you probably don't understand that Texas law limits what a judge can do.

I suspect that your husband has talked to an attorney & he is trying to protect himself & simplify the community estate in case there is a divorce. I suspect that "simplifying the community estate" is probably NOT in your best interests!

I encourage you to IMMEDIATELY make an appointment with an experienced family law attorney. You need to understand Texas law & potentially understand what could happen to you if he later files for divorce.

It sounds to me like he is trying to get rid of all "community property" and then he can divorce you at a later date & there will be nothing for you.

PLEASE TALK TO AN ATTORNEY IMMEDIATELY!

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Answered on 3/27/11, 9:09 pm


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