If you are going through a divorce, you may want the whole thing to be over as soon as possible. After all, even if it’s for the best, the divorce process can be stressful and fraught with conflict. Moreover, certain aspects of a divorce have the potential to become complicated and drawn out. However, it is important to remember that once a divorce decree is signed, it can be difficult to change. This means it is best to be thorough when working out the details.
The division of property can prove complex, especially if you and your spouse have been married for many years and have acquired a wide variety of high-value assets. It is important that both spouses fully account for all the assets accrued during a marriage that are eligible for division. While it is vastly preferable for a spouse to be honest and upfront about the full measure of his or her holdings, this does not always happen.
Sometimes a spouse may try to keep assets, including cash, hidden during the division process. There are any number of ways this can be done, including:
- By making phony debt payments to friends or family members in which the money will be held and then released back to the spouse after the divorce.
- If the spouse has a business, he or she could issue paychecks to a non-existent employee and then void the checks when the divorce concludes.
- By making arrangements with an employer to wait until after the divorce before paying raises, bonuses or stock options.
This is just a small sample of the ways a spouse could withhold the existence of assets. So if you want to make sure you get as full an inventory of assets as possible, you may wish to contact a high-asset divorce attorney. You are entitled by law to your fair share, and an experienced attorney who knows the tricks spouses sometimes play may be able to help get you what you deserve.
