When you and your spouse decide to get a divorce, if it’s going to be litigated and the court needs to rule on how you should divide assets, you’ll be asked to make financial disclosures. You essentially just need to disclose to the court all of the tangible or financial assets that you own.
In some cases, however, people will try to hide assets during the divorce process. Your ex may do this by inventing fake debts, overpaying on taxes, putting money in a safe deposit box, giving money to friends and family members, or simply undervaluing assets that they own.
Giving assets away is a very common tactic. Your ex may simply give money to a family member so that they no longer “own” it, knowing that the family member will return it to them once the divorce has been finalized.
Red flags that your ex may be hiding assets
Because this could have such a big impact on your property rights during the divorce, it’s important to look for red flags suggesting that your ex may be trying to hide assets. Here are a few to keep in mind:
- Being overly controlling
- Refusing to communicate
- Changing spending habits, such as a notable increase in spending
- Moving money frequently to make it difficult to keep track of financial assets
- Making all-cash purchases so that there is less of a record of what they’ve spent
If you see these red flags and you believe your spouse is hiding assets, then it’s important to begin looking into all of your legal options to protect your property rights.