How to Find Hidden Assets in a Divorce

Have you ever played the game hide and seek? Certainly you did a few times as a child. Well, sometimes adults play that same game with much more at stake and divorce lawyers are involved often times as well.

There are spouses who try to conceal their assets before or during divorce so they do not have to share them with their ex to-be. However, if you are a divorcing spouse you can make use a set of powerful legal tools, termed “discovery,” to find concealed income as well as other assets.

Take the first step

The initial step in the division of assets at the time of a divorce is to form an inclusive economic picture of every asset that is owned by each spouse. Usually, such assets are classified as “marital”,  meaning assets attained during marriage; “separate” meaning property already owned before marriage, inheritance, separation, or as gift; or “comingled” meaning you have combined separate and marital assets together.

Your divorce lawyer will tell you that these are rules common to all states but the prevailing laws relevant to your specific state will determine precisely how assets are classified.

Even if you don’t have any right of ownership to your spouse’s separate assets, it is crucial to account for them. This is because, depending on the laws of your state, a court might consider the value of the separate property of both spouses while determining the division of the marital assets as well as debts.

Finding assets when you are the “Out-Spouse”

In case it was your spouse who managed the bookkeeping while you were married, and you had no part in the tracking of the family finances, you are what divorce attorneys term an “out-spouse.” This simply signifies that you don’t have knowledge or direct access to any financial information your spouse has.

If you happen to be the “out-spouse,” the first thing you must do is ask your spouse to give you copies of every financial record. In case your spouse does so readily, gathering information will not be painful. However, this may not happen if your spouse is hiding assets. In such as case, your only alternative is to get online access to the account records, which is easy to obtain these days.

To find concealed assets in divorce is not very easy, particularly for non-attorneys. If you think that your spouse is concealing his/her assets, you need to consult a divorce lawyer with experience in asset investigation and search. Here are some ways to go for a basic search, although this might entail professional help.

The divorce discovery process

In case your spouse doesn’t reveal all financial information voluntarily in your divorce, you ought to resort to a formal legal process to obtain documents and information. This is what is termed the “discovery process.” This process entails various methods of obtaining information and includes the following:

• Document demands: Ask your spouse to present specific documents, like tax returns, accounts records, financial statements, and loan applications.
• Interrogatories: these are written questions for your spouse to respond to questions in writing.
• Inspection demands: You can your spouse to inspect property a safe deposit box, wine collection etc.
• Testimony under oath: Under this you, your spouse, along with your legal help comes together in the presence of court reporter. Then your spouse is sworn to speak the truth as well as respond to questions posed by your legal representative.

Now all this cannot be achieved without a divorce lawyer who will be in the best position to guide you every step of the way. Too busy trying to find what assets could be hidden? Not quite sure on your spouse’s income? How much overtime pay did your spouse obtain last year? You need legal help under the divorce banner. You may be as smart as your spouse but you do not know the law like their legal representative does. Go to this site to even the odds: http://divorce.usattorneys.com/.