During a divorce, it is common for mistrust to develop between spouses. In the past, you may not have fathomed that your partner would hide assets from you. Now, you may be unsure. It is important that you are diligent and look for any hidden assets during a divorce; Forbes explains how to do this.
How a spouse can hide assets
When concealing assets, a person is most likely to hide assets in several ways. First, he or she may deny that the asset exists at all. If he or she cannot deny it, then you may hear the asset referred to as lost. Another common way that people hide assets is through false debt. They create a false debt and pretend to have used said assets to pay it off. If this does not work, then your spouse may transfer an asset to a third party to hide it from the courts.
If you are worried about your spouse concealing assets, you may have to look for a paper trail.
Where to look for hidden assets
If you suspect that your spouse may be hiding assets, there are tax return sections to pay special attention to. For instance, look closely at the following:
- Profit or loss from business
- Interest and dividends
- Itemized deductions
- Supplemental income and loss
- Capital gains and losses
Look for discrepancies in the numbers. These sections can often reveal hidden assets or new assets. If there are major changes in recent tax returns that you cannot explain then your spouse may be trying to hide assets.
