Texas residents with substantial assets they wish to remain private should carefully consider divorce as a serious option. Divorce cases are public record. However, that doesn’t mean high-net-worth couples are completely without options. At the Law Office of Ben Carrasco, PLLC, we can inform you of how high-net-worth couples can keep financial details out of the public record.
With proper planning, most people can limit what goes into the public court file and still comply with Texas law. Successful navigation of a divorce case requires understanding disclosure requirements, the limitations that may apply, and recognizing how initial decisions affect long-term financial risk exposure.
Texas Court Records Are Open
In Texas, court records are presumed to be open to the public. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a establishes a default rule of openness for court files, requiring parties to provide substantial justification to obtain a sealing order.
Financial inventories, business valuations, and evidence of income can all become part of the public record by being filed with the court or admitted into evidence. Texas high-net-worth divorce laws create opportunities for flexible privacy protections for couples who address privacy concerns early.
Consider Mediation
Texas has roughly 2.1 divorces per 1,000 people, according to the most recent CDC data available. This was less than the national rate of 672,502 divorces, with a divorce rate of about 2.4 per 1,000 people in the United States.
One of the easiest ways to avoid putting financial information into the court record is by keeping it out of court in the first place. Mediation allows you to come to an agreement with your spouse outside of the courts. That means you can negotiate an agreement on financial issues and private matters without fear of disclosure.
Agreements reached in mediation can later be adopted by the court and incorporated into a final divorce decree, without any financial exhibits being included in the public record. In fact, most high-net-worth divorce cases that settle property division (and sometimes even custody) in Austin are mediated at least in part because of the privacy it offers parties.
Limit What Gets Filed
The discovery process allows parties to privately request information from each other. Not every financial document or piece of information has to end up filed with the court. Many documents can be attached only to pleadings filed with the court or presented during hearings. A tactical divorce attorney will be deliberate about what financial information is offered to the court and when.
Hire a Divorce Lawyer Before You File
Once information is filed with the court, there’s no taking it back. By hiring a high-net-worth divorce lawyer before you file, clients get the ability to manage how their case will be handled before sensitive financial information is placed at risk of exposure to the public.
Early decisions about strategy can determine whether your case tries mediation first, how discovery is used, and whether the court will consider sealing records or issuing protective orders.
Contact the Law Office of Ben Carrasco, PLLC
The Law Office of Ben Carrasco, PLLC, is an Austin, Texas, family law firm dedicated to representing clients in high-net-worth divorce and high-asset custody cases. Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Family Law, Stanford-educated Ben Carrasco personally handles every case for his clients and ensures they work directly with an experienced high-net-worth divorce attorney.
If you are going through a divorce and want to maintain your confidentiality, the Law Office of Ben Carrasco, PLLC can help. Contact us today for more information.
