At Heimerl & Lammers, our divorce attorneys in fully understand the challenges that accompany your marriage dissolution. And while all spousal relationships and divorce details are unique, one thing is true across the board: Each spouse will receive a percentage of the total value of their joint marital property.
Whether you outline the details of your divorce during mediation or must litigate the particulars inside a courtroom, if you are not the spouse who was in charge of the family’s finances, you may not know the extent of what assets you have or are entitled to during the proceedings. Our experienced divorce attorneys can help locate any hidden assets when your spouse is not being forthcoming about their existence.
How Will I Know if My Spouse Is Hiding Assets During Our Divorce Proceedings?
At Heimerl & Lammers, our divorce lawyers explain to each of our clients that hiding assets during a divorce is more than immoral. It is illegal.
However, that does not stop some spouses from attempting to move funds, or reallocate assets, to avoid dividing them as joint marital property during a divorce. Typically, the person who controls the finances has a much clearer picture of the couple’s marital assets, which may include physical property, cash, bank accounts, stocks, or retirement funds.
They may also employ tactics that remove assets from the equation, to avoid parting with them. To follow are potential signs that your spouse may be hiding assets:
- He or she made payments to family members or close friends for non-existent services.
This is common when one spouse knows that a divorce is imminent or is going to ask for a divorce. He or she will “pay” for services that have not been rendered to remove the money from the shared accounts, only to have it returned after the divorce is final.
- He or she may “gift” artwork, antiques, or other property to a family member, friend, or partner.
This is common to avoid including valuable assets as marital property, only to have them returned after the divorce is final.
- He or she may not report or underreport income on financial statements or tax filings.
This is common when one spouse works in a cash business, or when they delay billing clients until the divorce is final.
- He or she may set up a new financial account under a child or new partner’s Social Security number.
This is common when one partner has planned the divorce ahead of time, so he or she has the time they need to move funds without alerting the other spouse, possibly by converting cash into traveler’s checks or savings bonds.
- He or she may fail to list retirement, savings, or other financial accounts that the other spouse is unaware of.
This is common when one spouse is unaware of their overall financial status and does not know which accounts should be included in the financial disclosure.
How Will the Minneapolis Divorce Attorneys at Heimerl & Lammers Help Me Locate Hidden Assets?
If you suspect that your spouse is hiding assets, or if you have proof that he or she has transferred funds, gifted valuable property, has delayed taking a bonus at work, or employed another tactic to avoid listing assets during the financial disclosure, we can help you locate the missing figures.
First, we will begin with a discovery process that requires each spouse to turn over financial documents or other evidence for each legal team to review.
This may include:
- Tax Documents
- Account Statements
- Outstanding Loans
- Any other financial paperwork that relates to the marital assets
We will use our internal resources and extensive knowledge to identify missing information to ensure all assets are listed accurately, even if your spouse may have obtained new loans, closed accounts, emptied bank accounts, or sold property and spent or relocated the assets.
Next, especially in high asset divorces or marriages that include business ownerships or extensive property valuations, we will partner with a forensic accountant who is trained to professionally assess the value of a partnership, shareholder agreement, or investment portfolio, so any attempt to move or hide assets will be pinpointed to strengthen your case. With the help of these skilled professionals, we will interpret and evaluate all financial records, which will be presented to the court during their sworn testimony, so their inclusion in the equitable distribution process is all but certain.
Contact Our Experienced Divorce Attorney to Discuss Your Financial Concerns during a Free Consultation Today
If you have questions about how your divorce will affect your finances, and how to properly evaluate your marital assets, contact our divorce attorneys at Heimerl & Lammers today by calling (612) 294-2200 or by contacting us online to learn more about our legal processes and how we can help ensure you are getting the financial share you are entitled to during your divorce.
