When going through a divorce, you always want to know where your assets are and how a court is likely to divide them.
This means you should understand what asset hiding is and how to handle it.
Active vs passive hiding
Forbes talks about some of the crucial components of asset hiding. Asset hiding occurs when one spouse attempts to obscure a source of assets or an entire asset to avoid sharing or dividing that asset during the divorce process.
A spouse may attempt to hide assets in either active or passive ways. Passive asset hiding usually involves refusing to remind a partner about the existence of a valuable asset that is commonly forgotten, such as airline mileage or country club membership.
Active asset hiding, on the other hand, typically involves a spouse attempting to hide assets in a more assertive way. This could involve physically hiding cash, obfuscating an income trail or changing his or her financial habits to prepare a stash of assets for later.
Those most likely to hide assets
People with financial insecurity often have the motivation to hide assets. If money concerns or spending habits have come up repeatedly in arguments, then you may want to keep a close eye out on any changes in your spouse’s financial patterns or in their willingness to share financial information with you.
Even small changes to typical behaviors could indicate hidden assets, which is crucial to keep in mind when you start the asset division process of your divorce.