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One of the most difficult and contentious parts of a divorce is when your spouse tries to hide his/her assets and income. Spouses often try to hide or devalue their personal possessions such as jewelry, antiques, and bank accounts – especially if they are already separated. Spouses often try to hide a profitable business or claim the business is barely functioning when it is making a nice profit. Spouses will attempt to hide stocks and claim they don’t have IRA or other retirement accounts when they do. Not disclosing assets in divorce can be a real problem in divorce proceedings.
According to Divorce and Finance, spouses may be involved with hiding assets so the assets are not included in the discussion of how to equitably divide the marital property. Spouses who are not disclosing assets in divorce may claim they’re not making as much money as they are – in order to argue they should pay alimony or reduce the amount of alimony and child support they should pay.
What are some of the ways spouses use when not disclosing assets in divorce?
A spouse hiding assets during a divorce may try to have friends or other family members hold on to the property while the divorce is pending. If the transfer to the friend or family member is discovered, the spouse will claim it was a gift – even though the understanding with the friend or family member is that the property will be transferred back to the spouse when the divorce is final. A spouse may transfer assets or funds to a partner if they own a business. Some spouses involved with hiding money during a divorce may spend their money on a new spouse.
Some spouses who know the marriage is on the rocks begin hiding assets before the divorce even starts.
How do skilled divorce lawyers find hidden assets?
The starting point is through the discovery process. We file requests for information from your spouse. The requests include:
- Asking your spouse to review a detailed checklist of possible assets and declare, whether he/she has those assets, where the assets are, and their value.
- Seeking financial records including individual and business tax returns, title to real and personal property, bank account records, and other legal documents.
- Reviewing everything clients know about the finances of both spouses during the marriage.
- Examining your spouse’s current lifestyle. Is your husband living in a better house, driving a better car, or enjoying life is ways that don’t match the poor financial condition your spouse is trying to claim?
- Seeking the right to have real estate, business, and financial appraisers review your spouse’s assets to determine their true worth.
If we suspect that your spouse is lying about his/her assets or not disclosing assets in divorce, we seek to have your spouse answer questions under oath – either in writing or in person.
We also may hire investigators to determine whether your spouse’s lifestyle matches his/her financial asset and income claims.
Our New Jersey divorce lawyers notice the red flags in addition to lifestyle changes. These red flags include:
- A sudden number or a large amount of withdraws from joint accounts
- New companies or ventures that didn’t exist when you were married.
- Changes in the income your spouse or your spouse’s business reports from the years you were married.
- Pressuring you to sign agreements such as postnuptial agreements without your lawyer or without giving you time to review them.
- Being secretive or hesitant to answer questions.
- Many other suspicious activities.
What are some of the more sophisticated ways a spouse may try to use when not disclosing assets in divorce?
Some advanced methods for not disclosing assets in divorce include:
- Offshore bank accounts.
- Buying property in other states or other nations.
- Not disclosing assets in divorce by investing funds in a business or manipulating the funds through the business accounts.
What is the penalty for hiding assets in divorce?
There are many things a judge could do if your spouse is not disclosing assets in divorce. The following penalty for hiding assets in divorce may include:
- If your spouse lied under oath about not disclosing assets in divorce, he/she could be charged with perjury.
- The judge could force your spouse to part or all of your legal fees including the fees to pay appraisers and other financial experts – if they hide assets in a divorce.
- The judge will include those assets as marital property and will consider those assets when determining alimony and child support
- The judge may also consider the act of lying in determining whether to give you a larger equitable share or a larger amount of spousal or child support.
- Your spouse could be charged with contempt or even face criminal charges when not disclosing assets in divorce.
These days, many assets can be discovered with your spouse’s social security number including bank account information, loan information, national accounts, and international accounts – when your spouse is not disclosing assets in divorce.
At DeTorres & DeGeorge Family Law, our seasoned divorce lawyers work aggressively to uncover any hidden assets and hold your spouse accountable for dishonesty. To discuss all aspects of your divorce, including not disclosing assets in divorce, call us at 908-691-2104 or fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment. We have offices in Clinton and Florham Park.
