When you approach a divorce, one of the things you must do is present the court with a list of your assets. You’ll need to put down everything you and your spouse own, whether they belong to one of you or both of you.
That should be fairly straightforward, although it may take some time to remember, locate and list everything. Yet, you might feel the final list is missing something — but you can’t put your finger on what.
Spouses sometimes try to hide assets
It is possible you are wrong and nobody is being purposefully deceptive, but it’s also possible your spouses is hiding assets. Ways they might do this include:
- Moving the funds to an undisclosed bank account or trust in another state or country
- Putting money or physical assets in safe deposit boxes or secret hiding places
- Buying property and registering it in someone else’s name
- Overpaying tax to the IRS, knowing the reimbursement won’t happen until after the divorce
- Asking an employer to delay a bonus until after the divorce
- Paying back imaginary loans to friends or family who later reimburse the money
If you suspect something is up, it may pay to hire a forensic accountant. They are trained to track down financial anomalies. If the accountant discovers missing assets, you can pass this information on to your legal team. They can then look at presenting this to the court and asking them to redress the balance. A court may just ensure you get a fair split of the undeclared assets, or they may punish your spouse for their dishonesty by awarding you a larger share of things.
If you suspect your spouse of hiding assets, the sooner you explore your legal options, the better.