Divorce With Respect

There is a high price to pay for hiding assets

On Behalf of | Mar 31, 2016 | English, Family Law, Firm News | 0 comments

When two people are at the point where they want to end their marriage it is usually because there is not a lot of love left between them. The love lost can make just about every interaction painful, stressful and frustrating. To make matters worse separating spouses may not trust each other and the added suspicion makes everything that much more combative.

With all these emotions at play, it can be difficult to resolve property issues related to the divorce. This is especially true when it comes to the division of assets. Feelings of fear, anger, resentment, and even greed can motivate people to hide assets so they will be shielded from distribution. This is not only unfair, it is illegal.

Unfortunately, hiding assets is not uncommon especially when it comes to assets that are significant, complex or managed by just one spouse. It can seem fairly easy to stash some money in a secret bank account or hide ownership of property and investments. When assets are hidden there are ways to uncover them and the penalties for hiding assets can be severe.

Thorough investigations into how much money is earned and where it all goes is perhaps the most common way to discover undisclosed assets. A spouse may be able to do this on his or her own, as discussed in this Huffington Post article, or a financial analyst may provide some insight and clarity.

No matter how hidden assets are discovered, the fact is that the spouse who tried to hide them can and will face penalties. This is especially true if he or she has submitted a false financial affidavit. These penalties can be civil, criminal or both.

If you are worried about how your assets will be distributed in a divorce you should discuss the legal avenues for protecting and dividing these assets with an attorney rather than resort to illegal acts. Alternatively, if you are worried that your ex is the one hiding assets, you should discuss ways to uncover them with an attorney.

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