Hide & Peek: Find Assets Your Spouse May Be Hiding: Family Law Tips

Do you suspect your spouse of squirreling away assets so they don’t have to give you your share?  Obviously, suspicions don’t hold up in court (or anywhere else for that matter).  So, polish your magnifying glass, put on your Deer Stalking cap and get to work because, as Sherlock himself uttered, “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.”

Sleuthing out assets that your spouse (or ex) is hiding can be challenging to say the least.  But, don’t let that deter you, Once you know what to do, where to look it’s  . . .  well . . elementary, my dear.

However, if you’re clueless . . . sorry, I couldn’t resist, or even when you’ve got plenty of them (clues), it is always best to have a New York Family attorney do the detecting for you.  For instance, hiding digital currency is easy because there may be no records for the account other than the “key” which is maintained by the owner. However, there are ways to find assets a spouse (or ex) is trying to hide. An experienced lawyer who knows the laws specific to New York State, can help you retain an expert investigator and other adept professionals to ferret out hidden assets.

Peeking into your spouse or ex-spouse’s financial affairs takes a lot of time and can be exceedingly frustrating for the untrained sleuth, but if you feel you’ve got the gumption here are a few clues to get you started.

• Checking Account Statements and Credit Card Statements — Reviewing these statements could lead you to payments for storage facilities, unusual withdrawals, purchases of assets, payments on installment accounts, payments for safe deposit boxes, and transfers of cash to other accounts.
• Tax Assessor’s Office — The tax assessor can give you information on recent purchases of real estate, including investment properties and vacation homes.
• Tax Returns — Tax returns are also valuable sources of information for hidden assets. You may want to look at the last five years of tax returns for interests in partnerships, investment accounts, trusts, and real estate holdings.
• Loan Applications — During the discovery process of the divorce, you may be able to obtain copies of loan applications. Typically, a person lists all assets on the loan application to boost their chance of receiving the loan. Also, it is a federal crime to provide false information on mortgage and other loan applications.
• Snoop around — If your partner is still living with you, search closets, dresser drawers, and other hiding places for evidence of assets such as stock certificates, statements, life insurance policies, bank accounts, jewelry, and other items.
• Delayed Compensation at Work — You may need to subpoena your ex’s employer to inquire whether your ex has requested that the employer delay bonuses, raises, or promotions until your family court action is concluded.
• Custodial Accounts — An ex-partner may attempt to hide assets by setting up a custodial account in the name of a child.
• Trust Agreements — Another way of hiding assets is by transferring assets to a trust agreement so that the trust holds title to substantial assets instead of the ex.
• Transfers to Family Members — You may also want to investigate family members to determine if they have received title to assets or large sums of money from your ex.

Rousting out assets before the divorce is final is the best possible scenario. However, if after the divorce is complete, you uncover an asset that your now ex concealed, contact your attorney without further ado! Your attorney may be able to reopen the divorce proceeding and request the court demand your ex to submit information regarding the asset(s).

In the words of Sherlock Holmes, “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”

I therefore adjure you to seek out and obtain an experienced, New York legal specialist.  They will cut through the murky mire of fact and falsehood that your soon-to-be or current ex has created to put you off the scent of their financial worth.