The more successful a professional becomes and the more complex their income is, the more chances a vindictive spouse has to accuse them of hiding assets. Such accusations can complicate a divorce and could potentially result in economic penalties for the spouse accused.
Married individuals have a responsibility to their spouses. They share income and resources during the marriage to maintain the best standard of living possible. When people divorce, accusations may begin flying. One spouse might accuse the other of hiding marital property.
The more complicated the marital estate is, the more opportunities there are for misconduct and the easier it is for people to develop unfounded suspicions. A spouse accused of hiding marital property could be at risk of the courts diminishing what assets they retain if the courts side with their spouse during divorce proceedings. How can people respond to accusations of hidden marital assets?
Partnering with the right professionals
Anyone facing a contentious divorce typically needs the assistance of a family law attorney who can advocate for them. A lawyer can manage communications to diminish the amount of conflict that arises. They can also educate someone about their rights under the law and help them hire outside professionals who can support them as the divorce progresses.
Forensic accountants can be valuable additions to a divorce team. They can go over financial records to prove that one spouse has made thorough disclosures and has not conducted any inappropriate transfers. The process of asset tracing can help verify what property is marital and what happened with marital income.
The reports produced by forensic accountants can respond to specific accusations by showing the current fair market value of certain resources and pointing out what happened with certain income. They can also help show that there was no effort to intentionally hide assets, just a failure to include certain resources in initial documents.
Thorough financial records combined with the right support during negotiations or litigation can help someone avoid the worst possible consequences of accusations of financial misconduct. While bad behavior typically doesn’t have much bearing on divorce proceedings, hidden assets are one of the few exceptions to that rule. The courts sometimes strip someone of the resources that they failed to disclose or undervalued and award them to their spouse as a punishment for financial misconduct.
Responding assertively to claims of bad behavior during a divorce could make all the difference for those with complex marital estates and accusatory spouses. What might seem like hidden assets might just be resources someone accidentally overlooked when putting together an inventory of assets.
