If you are going through a high-asset divorce, you may grow concerned that your spouse is trying to hide assets. This is especially true if it is a high-conflict divorce or if they blame you for the end of the marriage. Your spouse may try to hide assets to keep them out of property division, even though full disclosure of financial resources is required when filing for divorce.
So how are they going to hide those assets? Below are a few common examples to look out for.
Transferring money to new accounts
A simple tactic may be transferring money to new accounts and then failing to report them during the divorce. If you see withdrawals from your joint bank account with your spouse, it may indicate that they are moving money to a secret account. Some people will also buy other types of financial resources, like cryptocurrency, and then fail to disclose their ownership.
Giving money away
Another potential problem is if your spouse decides to give money to someone else, asking that person to simply return the full total after the divorce – meaning they do not have to split the money with you. Be wary if they give money to friends or family members, or if they suddenly “remember” an old debt that they have not paid off yet.
Undervaluing assets
Finally, people will sometimes report all the assets and accounts that they own, but they will undervalue those assets when possible. Maybe your spouse has an art collection and they claim that it is worth only half as much as it really is. Or perhaps they are a business owner, so they undervalue the business.
If you believe your spouse is hiding assets, it can complicate your divorce, so be sure you know exactly what legal steps to take.
