IS YOUR SPOUSE HIDING MONEY?

Finding Hidden Money and Assets is not Rocket Science. Most Spouses who try to hide Money or other assets do a sloppy job and are easily caught.

The keys to finding hidden assets are persistence and time. If you don’t have both available, you may want to consider hiring someone to do the work for you. Often you can find a bookkeeper who does not charge as much as an accountant, but can get the job done.

If you believe your Spouse has hidden substantial property or money, then I suggest that you hire an Accountant who Specializes in tracing assets.

For most cases, however, the amounts involved don’t justify thousands of dollars in accountant’s fees. Doing your own homework can turn up thousands of dollars you otherwise would not have had available to divide.

It is much easier to find an asset hidden within the last year or two than 10 or 20 years ago. Fortunately most people don’t think about trying to hide assets until a year or two before the divorce, so the job can be easier.

Some of the more obvious and easily discovered areas where assets may be missing are:

1. BANK ACCOUNTS:

The most common source of missing funds comes from Bank Accounts. Spouse’s will often take sums of money out of bank accounts a few months before separation in preparation for paying for a separate living space, furniture, attorney’s fees, and other expenses which crop up at divorce time.

Depending upon how long you think your spouse may have been planning their exit, obtain copies of bank statements as far back as necessary — anywhere from 6 months to 2 years is generally sufficient. Look at the withdrawals each month for anything out of the ordinary — you may be surprised! Also, be certain you have copies of ALL Bank Statements for ALL Bank Accounts.

Any sums of money that a Spouse uses which are not for the “benefit of the marital or community estate” will generally have to be reimbursed by that Spouse.

2. CREDIT CARDS:

Another common method of accumulating hidden assets is by way of credit card.

Obtain credit card statements for as far back as you feel necessary and check all of the withdrawals — particularly look for cash withdrawals and transfers to other accounts.

Obtain a copy of your spouse’s credit rating to be certain you know about all of their credit cards and debts.

3. CASH:

This is a trickier subject. If your spouse is in a business which accepts cash, look at the monthly receipts to determine if there has been an unusual drop in income with no explanation.

If the records are available, check to see if the drop of income is in the form of a drop in cash receipts in contrast to payment by credit card, check etc.

Numerous other methods exist to discover hidden assets. My purpose here is to give you three of the most simple and common methods of hiding assets and what to do about them.

If you suspect your spouse of this type of conduct, then you should research further methods, particularly as they relate to income and small businesses, to assure that you are receiving everything that you are entitled to in your divorce.