Many couples experience feelings of distrust when preparing for divorce. However, when those feelings are founded and one spouse is hiding assets it may skew the court’s property division determination. In order to ensure they get treated equitably in their divorce settlement, it may help if people understand how their spouses may conceal shared assets and where to look for them.
According to Forbes.com, some of the most common ways for people to conceal marital assets involve creating false debts, transferring property to a third party, claiming the assets got lost or denying the assets exist. People may experience challenges proving that any of these subversive actions occurred, however, following the paper trail may help them uncover the shared assets their soon-to-be-exes attempted to hide.
When preparing for a divorce, taking inventory of their and their spouses’ safe places and hiding spots may reveal property people did not know existed or that was hidden from them. Additionally, it may benefit people to look through the documents they have placed in these areas. For example, people may identify assets they did not know existed when analyzing their mortgage closing documents as lending companies typically require people to list all their sources of income, liabilities and assets.
According to CNBC.com, tax returns may also provide valuable assets when looking for hidden marital assets. Looking through tax returns may reveal red flags through discrepancies in the reported items year-over-year. People may identify through examining Schedules A through E of their jointly-filed tax returns overpayments to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the acquisition of new assets, the sale or transference of property, and other incomes and losses, which may indicate that a spouse has attempted to conceal shared property.
