When you divorce, you and your spouse must each present a list of your assets to the court. You must be honest when doing so, but not everyone is.
Some spouses try to hide assets from their spouse and the court to avoid having to share them in the property division process. Here are some of the ways they do that:
Denying the asset exists
“What cryptocurrency? I wouldn’t even know where to begin with that modern technology.” If your spouse says something similar when their browser history shows they’ve clearly been reading up on the subject, it might signify they are attempting to hide money from you in a place that can be incredibly hard to trace and access.
Transferring the asset to a third-party
People often ask a close friend or family member to look after something for them. They might transfer a chunk of money to the other person’s bank account or buy something in their name. For example, they might purchase a property and put the title deeds in their best friend’s name or invest in shares in their sister’s name. Once the divorce is through, their accomplice will transfer the asset back.
Claiming the asset is lost
You remember buying your spouse a particularly expensive piece of jewelry. When you ask where it is, they claim they lost it but never told you because they did not want to upset you. It might be true, but it could also be a ruse to keep the asset.
Creating false debt
This is another way of giving money to someone else to look after. They claim they moved money to pay off a debt they had not told you about.
If you suspect your spouse is being dishonest about their assets, you need to learn more about your options to verify it and, if true, present your findings to the divorce court.