Property division should be a clear, honest process. Yet you only need to look at fictional divorces on TV or in the movies to know that sometimes there is foul play by one or both parties.
There are two principal ways that a spouse might try to cheat the other out of a fair share of assets in property division.
1. Dissipating assets
Dissipating assets means a person squanders money. Their goal is to run down what they have so there is less for their spouse to claim. Typically, this would mean they spend on the joint credit card or from the joint bank account, so there is less marital property to divide.
Ways people dissipate assets include buying a completely new wardrobe of clothes from a designer store, taking their friends on an all-expenses-paid holiday or buying a new partner a big diamond.
2. Hiding assets
Some spouses aren’t just interested in ensuring their spouse does not get their hands on the money. They want to make sure they can enjoy it after the divorce is over, too. So instead of squandering it, they’ll hide it. There are various ways they might do this, from hiding it under the floorboards to moving it into an out-of-state trust to buying things in someone else’s name. Other ways include overpaying tax or delaying a bonus. Discovering hidden assets can be hard, and if you do, accessing them may still be difficult.
Neither dissipating assets nor hiding them is allowed in a divorce. But that does not mean your spouse might not try. If you think they are, consider legal guidance to learn more about your options.