It’s not unusual for some spouses to hide assets during a divorce to avoid each party having their right share. If one has a significant amount of assets, they may be tempted to hide them mostly because they worked hard more than their spouse to achieve them. If you are in a situation where you believe your spouse has hidden some marital assets, there is a way you can get access to those assets. With the use of Estolano law, you can make sure there is an equal split of your marital assets during a divorce.
How Will My Spouse Hide Assets?
It’s a legal requirement for every spouse to disclose all assets, debts, or any fact that may affect the financial disclosure during a divorce. There are many ways in which your spouse may hide assets. Some include:
- Generation of fake expenses
- Transfer of assets to a corporate partner
- Failure to report income tax
- Investments in bonds that may not appear in financial statement
- Delay of bonuses, commissions, salary raises, promotions, etc., from your spouse’s employer.
The right process must be followed to divide assets after divorce. But before this, assets must be divided into either marital or separate property acquired before the marriage. Sometimes, there may arise a disagreements between marital and separate assets. In such a case, one should provide the right documents showing clearly which assets belong to whom. If you cannot reach an agreement, a judge may decide your case.
Hiding assets is common, especially when a couple is to have a contested divorce. Most times, such assets are hard to find; the best way one can get hidden marital assets disclosed is to look for legal help. One way is through a discovery procedure that may have your ex-spouse produce certain documents, answer specific questions, and take an oath. If your spouse tries to lie during the discovery process, they may be charged with perjury. If you have a divorce lawyer, you can request him/her to get a forensic accountant who can locate the assets using tracking systems.
How To Avoid Your Spouse From Hiding Assets
If it’s clear that you will have a contested divorce and believe your spouse may hide some assets, you may prepare to start investigating your assets. You can do this way before you file a divorce petition. One way to make sure you are prepared is to have all your assets documented. These assets may include:
- Income tax returns
- Pay stubs
- Bank accounts statements
Hiding assets is a massive risk that any spouse can take. Just as you are keen on keeping all the financial documents to date before your divorce proceedings, make sure to provide the right financial information to your spouse.
Getting Legal Help
If you believe your spouse has hidden some assets, you can consider looking for a good divorce lawyer. Such a lawyer can help protect your assets and any other financial interest you may have. Every spouse has a duty to a full financial disclosure before the divorce. If this doesn’t happen, there may be a violation that can only be resolved through litigation.