One thing that people sometimes worry about during divorce is that their spouse is going to hide assets so they can avoid property division. Legally speaking, both people are supposed to disclose all assets to the court, and then those assets are supposed to be divided in accordance with state law. But, in order to keep 100% of some assets for themselves, people will attempt to hide them and fraudulently report that they have fewer possessions than they do.
If you’re worried that your spouse may do this, here are a few tactics people often use.
Giving their money away
One of the easiest tactics that people will often settle on is simply to give their money to someone else and ask that person to hold it until after the divorce. For instance, without telling you, your spouse could transfer all the money from certain financial accounts into a friend’s name or into the name of a family member – such as a sibling.
Failing to disclose cash assets
Many accounts have electronic records, which makes them easier to find, but cash assets are sometimes easier for people to hide. For example, your spouse may take out a small amount of cash back at an ATM for months on end, and then they will put that cash in a safe deposit box.
Using complicated investments
Finally, people sometimes transfer money into other investment portfolios or try to move it overseas. One example of how they do this is by investing money in cryptocurrency. These accounts can be more complicated, and your spouse may also count on the fact that you don’t do the same type of investing and may not even know those accounts exist in the first place.
If you believe your spouse is going to hide assets, you need to know exactly what legal options you have.