First and foremost, remember that you should not hide assets during a divorce. The court is going to ask you for full financial disclosure, and you need to be honest when turning over things like bank statements, investment statements, tax returns and much more.
At the same time, it is important to remember that your spouse may try to hide assets. This is relatively common in high-conflict divorce cases. So how are they going to do it?
5 potential tactics
There are countless ways to hide assets, so it is very important to keep track of exactly what you own and what qualifies as marital property. To help you get started, though, here are five potential tactics that your ex may try to use:
- Creating fake debt, especially if they are a business owner
- Giving money away (or paying back an invented debt) to family members or friends, who will return the money after the divorce
- Undervaluing assets that they own, such as claiming that an art collection is only worth $10,000 when it is really worth $100,000
- Overpaying on bills or taxes with the intent of getting a refund check after the divorce
- Making small withdrawals and hiding the money, such as taking $100 out of an ATM every time they go to the grocery store and depositing it into a safe deposit box
If your spouse does try to hide assets, then it is important for you to know what type of legal options you have to seek a fair split of your marital assets. It can help to work with an experienced law firm.
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