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Divorce Marital Property

An Unusual Claim of Hidden Assets in a Divorce

Fridays are always a good time for blog posts with a bit of humor.  I previously discussed the importance of having an inventory in a Texas divorce in order to catalog assets, and some of the techniques Texas attorneys may use to find hidden assets when they aren’t voluntarily disclosed.  I’m not sure I would be prepared for this particular omission from an inventory, however.

A wealthy hedge-fund boss is suing his poker-pro ex-wife for a reason that would be like a stiletto to the heart of any pump-crazy New York gal — her shoe collection.

Daniel Shak claims Beth Shak never told him about her stockpile of 1,200 pairs of designer shoes when they divorced three years ago.

The finance titan, who had shared a Fifth Avenue pad with Beth, claims that she hid the collection from him — possibly in a “secret room” — and that its value may entitle him to hundreds of thousands of dollars more in their divorce settlement.

While it may seem petty to argue over a bunch of shoes, the husband in this odd scenario estimates the shoe collection to be worth approximately $1 million.  That’s a lot of very expensive shoes.

No matter whether we’re talking about designer shoes or stock in a designer shoe company, it is important to protect yourself as much as possible from such omissions.  An inventory gives you a great starting point in a Texas divorce in order to ensure that both spouses are making a full disclosure as to all of their assets.  In the event a spouse fails to disclose certain assets in an inventory, Texas law allows the innocent spouse to ask for a division of that asset.  In some cases, a Texas court can determine whether the failure to disclose the asset was willful, thereby allowing the court to award a disproportionate share of that asset to the innocent spouse.  Without an inventory, however, it becomes much more difficult to prove a failure to disclose, much less a willful failure to disclose.

If you’re concerned about whether you have full disclosure of assets in your divorce, contact our Houston divorce attorney, Bobby L. Warren, at 713-579-9702.