The more resources people have, the easier it is for one person to misrepresent financial reality to the other. Hidden assets can be a serious complication during divorce proceedings.
Locating assets that one spouse attempted to hide can be a challenge. Spouses who understand the impact of hidden assets can better assert themselves during property division negotiations or litigation.
What harm do hidden assets cause?
The spouse who is unaware of the true extent of the marital estate may accept a lesser settlement than they actually deserve. Financial misrepresentation during divorce subverts the law and manipulates the outcome in favor of the spouse who lies. People can lose out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in marital income and property in the most egregious cases.
How the courts correct the issue
When information about hidden assets comes to light, possibly due to an investigation conducted by a forensic accountant, spouses can present what they discovered to the courts. If the divorce is still underway, the final property division settlement may ultimately reflect the attempt to manipulate the courts by lying about marital finances.
Most of the time, property division decrees are not subject to modification after a divorce. However, concrete evidence of hidden assets during hidden discovery proceedings can be one of the few scenarios in which the courts agree to revisit and adjust an imbalanced property division settlement.
Reviewing financial disclosures carefully and assessing finances for signs of hidden property with a skilled legal team are important during high-asset divorces. People who believe their spouses may attempt to hide assets to game the divorce process may want to discuss those concerns immediately with an attorney, and that can be a very wise instinct.
