When you’re going through a divorce, part of the process is making financial disclosures to the court. It’s important to be honest and not hide assets, or you could risk being held in contempt of court.
That said, people do still try to hide assets, often in an effort to keep those assets out of property division. You may be concerned that your spouse is going to do this if you are having a contentious divorce, so here are a few tactics to be aware of.
Undervaluing items
One tactic that people use is to buy expensive items and then purposely undervalue them during the disclosure. Examples could be art collections or musical instruments.
Underreporting income
Another issue is when someone simply isn’t honest about all of their income. If someone has two jobs and only reports the income from one, for example, they could be trying to disguise their true financial assets.
Transferring money to someone else
A common tactic is to transfer money to a different family member. For instance, your spouse may suddenly “remember” a debt that they owed to their parents or a sibling. In reality, they’re just transferring money to that person until the divorce is over, when they will get it back.
Putting off payments
Finally, your spouse may have ways to defer payments that they get at work. Perhaps they’re supposed to be paid bonuses or commissions, for example. If they ask to be paid after the divorce, they’re just trying to prevent that money from going through property division with the rest of their assets.
These are just a few examples, but they do show how complex divorce can be from a financial perspective. Make sure that you understand all of your legal options, especially if you believe your spouse is not being fully honest.