Divorce costs a lot of money and also means splitting your assets and debts with your former spouse. As such, many people are eager to push for the best possible outcome during the property division process in order to give themselves a strong financial foundation for a better future.
If you will soon initiate a high-asset divorce, the idea that your spouse may have hidden some income or assets may have already crossed your mind. You may feel tempted to dismiss those concerns because the value of the known marital estate is sufficient to allow for your stability and comfort. The risk of hidden assets may not seem to justify the investment of time required to locate them.
However, while you may not worry too much about your financial future or the value of those hidden assets, you really can’t secure a fair property division outcome in your divorce if you don’t locate all the assets from your marriage.
More people than you might think engage and financial infidelity
Experts define financial infidelity as the intentional act of hiding assets, debts, purchases or accounts from a spouse. Financial infidelity can involve frivolous spending, using marital assets to conduct an extramarital affair or even hiding a retirement account.
Research indicates that roughly 22% of people will hide certain financial information from their spouses. While some of those acts of financial infidelity involve debts and liabilities, plenty of them involve assets and even liquid capitol. If you want to ensure that you get a fair outcome for your divorce, looking closely at your financial circumstances to rule out the potential of hidden assets is an important step early in the process.