When it comes to divorce, financial concerns are often a major consideration for those who enjoy a higher standard of living during their marriages. More marital resources may give someone more incentive to engage in misconduct and more opportunity to do so.
As a result, one spouse in a struggling marriage may worry that the other might hide assets and deprive them of their equitable share of the marital estate in a Connecticut divorce. The following are some of the warning signs of hidden assets that spouses should not ignore.
Financial inconsistencies
One of the biggest red flags for hidden resources involves discrepancies between tax returns and household bank accounts. A well-compensated spouse could very easily arrange to have their employer distribute a portion of their income directly into a separate account before the remainder reaches the marital bank account. Someone may not even realize that their spouse has funneled thousands of dollars a month into a personal account throughout the marriage or in the last few years. People sometimes need to partner with forensic accountants to go over financial records and find warning signs of hidden bank accounts.
Incomplete inventories
Divorce negotiations and litigation typically involve financial disclosures. Each spouse must submit documents to one another and potentially also to the courts outlining what they own and what they owe. Some people realize that crucial resources are not on those documents when they review them. One spouse might choose not to list their hobby tools or collectibles, which could be worth tens of thousands of dollars. They might omit furniture or business assets acquired with marital income. The omission of assets from an inventory is one warning sign.
An unrealistically low valuation for assets is another concern. Someone who reports vintage mid-century modern wooden furniture as worth $50 a piece may have hidden thousands of dollars in property value in plain sight.
Missing resources in the home
Perhaps the prestige cookware in the kitchen disappeared, suddenly replaced by cut-rate non-stick frying pans. Maybe works of fine art or antique furniture are no longer present in the marital home, but there are no records of either spouse selling those resources. Hidden assets sometimes take the form of physical property that someone removes from the marital home with the intent of selling it to others or retaining it after the divorce.
Anytime there are warning signs of hidden financial accounts, missing physical resources and other hidden assets, a thorough financial review may be necessary to ensure a reasonable outcome to property division in a Connecticut divorce. Understanding how some people manipulate property division proceedings may benefit those worried about misconduct during their divorces.