Prior to this new law, divorce decrees would be put on the public record and could be accessible to anyone interested in looking at them. These divorce decrees necessarily listed in detail the assets and debts of the parties including even separate property not subject to division. This does not sit well with many who reasonably do not want to reveal the their entire financial to the world. In the age of widescale privacy breaches and with the advent of electronic access to court files, there has been growing concern about the court system revealing the details of people's financial situation, debts and even details of nearly every possessions they own.
Texas Family Code 7.006(b) Agreement Incident to Divorce or Annulment has been amended by HB 559 so that if the parties agree to a property division, they do not have to file the details of that agreement with the records of the court. The parties can simply refer to the property agreement and "incorporate them" by simply referring to the agreement in the decree.
Obviously the details of the property division agreement should still be in writing and each party should have a true copy of the agreement in their possession in case they ever have to enforce the agreement in court at a later date.
The author's opinion is that there are much better methods to maintaining your privacy during and after your divorce. However, this change is another tool that can be used.
If you have any other questions about privacy or other matters regarding your divorce, please visit our website at www.mydivorcefirm.com or call us at 832-819-3529.
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