Going through a divorce and separating your life from your ex’s is a stressful endeavor in and of itself. Maintaining financial stability in this time is yet another concern that can be stressful if you and your spouse possessed high assets. Whether you have a prenuptial agreement or not, you will need to fairly divide your assets to ensure that both parties’ finances are not compromised by the divorce.
Unfortunately, you cannot always trust your ex to be entirely honest when it comes to disclosing all the assets that may be relevant to your divorce. It is common, in fact, for some vindictive spouses to intentionally hide assets in an attempt to maximize their monetary gains in a divorce.
Cash and cash valuables
The Huffington Post cites research from the National Endowment for Financial Education that found that there are hidden assets in two out of three marriages. One of the most common ways for such assets to be concealed is in cash or valuables that can be converted to cash. If you suspect that your ex may be hiding assets in this way, you should look for any discernible paper trail.
Insurance policies
Insurance policies, though not cash, have a given value that is generally referred to as the cash surrender value. This means that in certain cases, if a policy is canceled, the owner may be eligible for a payout from the insurer. Your spouse may attempt to conceal such policies from discovery because their surrender value might be subject to property division in your divorce.
Stocks and investments
If your ex had any stocks or an investment portfolio, he or she may try to hide its contents to retain its profits for her or himself. While discovering such assets can be a challenge, there is often a paper trail left behind for stocks. Furthermore, any other type of investment is likely to eventually be discovered, too, if your ex ever tries to trade it.