You may suspect that your spouse is hiding money. What is the consequence if they are?
If your spouse lies about any assets, they may be charged with perjury. It can lead to a misdemeanor charge, fines, and imprisonment. Your spouse may also be charged if they attempt to intentionally mislead the court while trying to hide assets.
However, it is not as easy as you think to catch them or prove it. First of all, see if you can find out about any credit card debt that you spouse has incurred. If there has been a lot of new debt incurred about the time that it was decided to get divorced, you need to give this information to your attorney.
Keep track of all assets, liabilities, and money flow from the beginning of your marriage. You should look for signs of a change in your finances. Look for sudden decreases in income, missing bank statements, or a sudden change in behavior. Watch the incoming mail. Is there a bank statement for an account that you didn’t know about?
What happens when a spouse hides money during a divorce?
Because each party is required to divulge all assets, hiding assets during a divorce amounts to contempt of court. A judge may issue sanctions and require the spouse who is found to have hidden assets to pay the other’s legal fees. The judge can even grant higher alimony payments.
There are a lot of ways to hide cash from a spouse, and these are probably not illegal.
Don’t Disclose New Income to Spouse.
Get Cash Back Each Time You Check Out.
Safety Deposit Box.
Paying off a Loan From Family.
Buy New Possessions.
File Taxes Separately and Overpay.
Gather Prepaid giftcards.
Not Disclose Cash Income
If you suspect that your spouse has been stashing cash and you want to pursue it, you can hire a forensic accountant. Your attorney had help you with that. However, this often proves to be more expensive than it’s worth. You should talk this over with Ty Zdravko.
Ty Zdravko practices law as a divorce attorney, and family law attorney in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and the surrounding area.
For more information, visit our website at www.divorceboardcertified.com
or call (727) 787-5919.