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How can I tell if my spouse is hiding assets?

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Family Law on Friday, July 29, 2016.

No matter how long you have been married to another person, it is impossible to be absolutely certain what is going on in his or her mind. Of course, if the relationship is strong and based on mutual love and trust, you don’t need to know everything your spouse is thinking so long as you are sure their intentions are good.

However, if the relationship is in serious decline, then you may have concerns that your spouse is acting in ways that are against your best interests. And this can be especially critical if you believe you are headed for a divorce, and there are valuable property and assets up for division.

Often a spouse may begin to lay the groundwork for a divorce well before actually filing the papers. Their pre-divorce actions may include attempting to hide high-value assets to keep them from the division process.

There are number of signs that could be the case, such as he or she:

  • Acts secretly about financial matters.
  • Purchases high ticket items that can be sold later, such as artwork.
  • Makes claims of entitlement or acts childishly about money.
  • Takes trips to countries where the banking laws are less stringent.
  • Opens multiple bank accounts and maintains complete control over those accounts.

These are just a few behaviors that might indicate that your spouse has been trying to hide assets. If you believe such is the case, and you are now facing a divorce, you may want to discuss the matter with and experienced high net worth divorce attorney.

The attorney may be able to use your description of your spouse’s behavior to glean clues as to where assets could be stored. There are a variety of other tools an attorney can also use to help unearth everything that is eligible for division so you can get your fair share of the settlement.

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