In a high-asset divorce, both spouses need to be transparent about their assets. This ensures each person leaves their marriage with a fair distribution. Yet, many people have problems disclosing their assets and often believe their spouse doesn’t deserve as much as they should get out of the divorce.
Because of that, many people hide assets during a high-asset divorce. While it may be as simple as finding large sums of cash in a vault, in most cases, with the digital revolution, many hidden assets are stored online.
If you believe your spouse is hiding assets and you’re looking to reveal them during the divorce process, then you may need to consider the following steps:
Checking bank statements
For the most part, people aren’t the greatest at hiding their motives. In other words, if you have access to a joint bank account, then you should consider reviewing your bank statements. You may find several regularly made transactions that would lead you to hidden assets.
A transaction that repeats weekly, bi-weekly or monthly could be the result of stock or cryptocurrency investments. This could mean that your spouse isn’t just putting money aside but also making a profit. These transactions and any gains should have been disclosed during the divorce.
The discovery process
If your spouse isn’t willing to reveal what these transactions are for, then you may need to go through a discovery process. A discovery process is a legal action that allows an attorney or court to gain information during a high-asset divorce. You could confront your spouse about the revelations you made, but it’s very unlikely they’ll be honest, and the discovery process would force their hand.