Couples often hide financial assets from one another. If they’re married, this may be ethically questionable, but it’s not illegal.
But that changes if the couple gets divorced. In that case, hiding assets could certainly be illegal because the court requires the couple to disclose the assets that they own during property division. Unfortunately, some people will attempt to game the system and get more assets for themselves by hiding them from their spouse and the court. Below are three ways they may do it.
Putting off certain types of income
In some cases, if a person gets paid in cash, they simply won’t disclose that income to their spouse. They’ll try to keep it a secret. In other cases, they could even put off promotions, raises, bonuses or commission payments just so that they can earn more money after the divorce.
Putting assets aside
Another tactic is simply to put the assets in a safe deposit box or some other secret storage location. People will sometimes purchase gift cards or get cash back at the ATM, for example. They’re just hoping that all of these small transactions will go unnoticed and they can slowly set aside a substantial amount of money.
Giving assets away
Finally, you certainly want to watch out for a partner who starts to give assets away right before divorce. Often, they’ve already made arrangements with the other person to give that money back after the divorce is complete. But they might lie about their reasons, such as saying that they are paying off an old debt. They’re really just trying to get money out of their name.
Divorce gets complicated if you believe that your spouse is hiding assets. Be sure you are aware of all of your legal options at this time.