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Hidden Assets
What about hiding assets? Can you legitimately remove cash from joint accounts or valuable property from the marital domicile at the time of separation?
Yes, if you keep a scrupulous record of it, and include such assets in the list of holdings.
No, if you plan to stash the cash in a numbered Swiss account. That would be considered obstruction of justice, and would make the judge seriously unhappy. It's part of your lawyer's job to guide you toward a fair and honorable property division.
Your Soon-to-be-Ex
Suppose you suspect your spouse of deliberately hiding assets. What documents would help you discover their existence? Make copies of every one of these documents you can find and share them with your lawyer when you've completed your search.
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Your joint income tax statements for the past two years, or for whatever period of time your attorney recommends. If he or she is honest with the IRS, all sources of income should be listed somewhere on the forms.
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All bank statements for the same period
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Corporate tax returns for any family owned businesses.
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Both personal and business loan applications. Because the would-be-borrower always paints a rosy financial picture for the loan officer, they're apt to list assets that don't appear anywhere else.
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Brokerage and mutual fund statements for the past two years.
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Passbook, CD, and IRA statements for the same period.
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List the contents of the safe deposit box.
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Retirement and/or pension plan documents, whether your spouse has reached retirement age yet or not.
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Life insurance policy statements.
Excerpted from Your Pocket Divorce Guide by Linda C. Senn
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