As you move toward a divorce, it is important to keep a close eye on your financial records. For one thing, you and your spouse will need to make financial disclosures to the court. It can help to gather information, such as tax returns or bank statements.
But you also want to look for any red flags that may mean your spouse is not handling these financial assets appropriately. In some high-conflict divorces, people will take steps to deprive their soon-to-be ex of the assets they deserve. Two examples are dissipating marital assets and hiding them.
Spending down shared assets
Dissipating marital assets means spending them in a way that is outside of the norm. During a divorce, months may go by, and so normal spending is expected. But if there are significant changes and a person’s spouse begins spending excessively, they could just be trying to waste marital funds. Their goal is to spend the money on themselves before the funds go through property division, so that their ex gets less.
Hiding the assets
Additionally, some people will try to hide assets before making disclosures to the court. For instance, you may notice that your spouse gave away a large amount of money, perhaps giving it to a family member. They may have an excuse for this behavior, such as saying they were paying back an old loan. But in reality, they are just having the family member hold the money until the divorce case is over, when they will give it back.
This gives you an idea of some of the things to look for in the lead-up to a divorce. Make sure that you fully understand all of your rights and options during property division.