Assets are supposed to be divided equitably during a divorce. Unfortunately, your spouse may hide assets so they don’t have to share them with you. There may be obvious signs that your spouse is hiding assets, yet, more often than not, you’ll have to dig deeper to uncover assets that you’re owed.
If you suspect your spouse is hiding assets, then you’ll have to collect important documents when uncovering them. When doing so, you may need to reach out for legal help to ensure you’re taking the right steps to acquire your assets. The following are methods to uncover hidden assets:
Bank account statements
You likely have access to a shared bank account with your spouse. Perhaps the easiest way to find hidden assets is by reviewing your bank statements. If you notice there are large charges going out to an unknown entity and these payments are recurring, then you may have evidence that your spouse is making unknown investments or hiding assets.
Tax returns
Your spouse may be hiding assets from you, but they likely don’t want to go toe-to-toe with the IRS. In other words, you may not know where certain assets are going, but the IRS does. You may request a copy of your spouse’s income tax returns when looking for hidden assets.
Business records
Does your spouse own a business? One easy way for someone to hide assets from their significant other is by using their business to hide their income or loans. You may need to review their business records when uncovering hidden assets.
At each stage of the divorce process, it will benefit you to have legal guidance on your side.