High Net Worth Divorces: What If My Spouse is Hiding Assets?

Getting a divorce in California becomes more complex when you’re a high net worth couple. With a large variety of assets likely making up your marital property, it can be difficult to identify precisely how much you might be entitled to after the divorce. This can be especially true when your spouse is the high earner or wealthier spouse – they may be inclined to hide assets from you so that they can hang on to a larger portion of the pie. If you’re finding yourself in this situation, our Irvine high asset divorce attorneys can help.

How to Determine If Your Spouse is Hiding Assets

When you initiate a divorce proceeding, it’s important to begin gathering all of the important paperwork immediately to have a clear sense of your total asset value. This will help you when it comes time to file a financial disclosure report and help your attorneys determine where assets may be missing or otherwise unaccounted for. Some of the paperwork you will be asked to gather will include pay stubs, a list of all assets and liabilities, including mortgages or other debt, all income and cash flow sources, employment history for both you and your spouse, prior tax returns, property records, credit card statements, loan applications, and appraisals of art, jewelry or antiquities.

By doing your own accounting of your total worth, you help your attorneys identify whether your spouse might be hiding assets from you. If your lists are different, it’s a sure sign that something funny is going on. Also, there are other types of behavior that suggest your spouse may be trying to hide assets from you. These include:

• Changes in spending: Is your spouse suddenly spending more? Or even less? They may be paying less towards shared bills that could adversely affect you. 
• Changes in the address where they receive bills: If your spouse is rerouting the destination where they are meant to receive their bills, they might be trying to avoid them and paint a picture of a person who is struggling financially.
• Slow drains: If your account funds are slowly diminishing and not being replenished, it likely means that your spouse is trying to slowly move money into another undisclosed account so that you can be entitled to less. 

Utilize the Experience of Your Irvine High Asset Divorce Attorneys

When it comes to handling high net worth divorces, our attorneys have seen it all. They are certainly used to seeing high net worth spouses with less-than-stellar morals decide to try and cheat their former spouses out of what they deserve. The key to avoiding becoming a cautionary tale in a high net worth divorce is to stay on top of how your finances are being managed. Don’t let your guard down and assume your ex will do the right thing for you.

Ready to get started? Contact our Irvine high asset divorce attorneys today.