The financial side of a divorce can be very complicated. You may be planning to get divorced after spending decades with your spouse, but now you’re worried that they’re going to hide assets during the divorce. They’ve been very unhappy with the process and you get the sense that they’ll do anything they can to keep money from you.
The first step to resolving a situation like this is understanding how they may do it. Here are a few potential ways.
Undervaluing items
In some cases, your spouse will report the assets, but they’ll claim a value that is far lower than the real value. This is often done with art pieces and other things that have a bit more of an arbitrary value.
Putting money aside in a safe deposit box
Even those without expensive art collections can hide assets, sometimes by taking cash out of the ATM or getting cash back when making a purchase. People will spend months or even years stashing this money in a hidden location, like a safe deposit box.
Deferring earnings
In other cases, people will choose to defer money that they should’ve earned simply so it doesn’t look like they control it. For instance, your spouse may have earned commissions or bonuses, but he or she may ask the company to hold onto those until after the divorce. Some people even defer raises or increases in salary.
Finding your assets
These are only three of many ways that people hide assets, but the key is to find what you are truly owed in your divorce. This can be very complicated, and you need to know exactly what legal steps to take.
