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What happens if your spouse hides assets?

On Behalf of | Sep 3, 2020 | High-asset Divorce

California couples like you have a lot on your plate when handling divorce. This is especially true if you have high assets, as it creates more to keep track of. Unfortunately, some people may take advantage of this to try hiding assets.

The higher your assets are, the harder it is to tell when things are not adding up. But once you notice something is amiss, your spouse can end up in some hot water.

What drives a spouse to hide assets?

Forbes discusses the consequences of attempting to hide assets during a divorce. There are many reasons your spouse may try to do this. They might feel like a court will not judge things in a “fair way”, or in their favor. They may just want to keep their assets and feel as though you do not “deserve” any. Whatever the case, there are plenty of tactics to carry out the plan of hiding assets.

Unfortunately for them, not many people are successful in hiding assets. And once their ploy gets discovered, they may face harsher consequences than they thought. Why? Because hiding assets during divorce is actually an act of perjury.

Financial affidavits and acts of perjury

When you and your spouse start the divorce, you sign a financial affidavit. This confirms that everything you state about your finances is true to the best of your ability. If you lie intentionally, this goes against the affidavit. The court can thus hold you in contempt.

This may result in jail time for your spouse. At the very least, the judge presiding over your case will order them to pay the proper share of assets to you. In some cases, they may even get instructed to pay more.

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