What Happens if Your Spouse is Hiding Assets During Your California Divorce?

At the Land Legal Group, our divorce attorneys in Los Angeles know that not everyone is ready and willing to part with their marital property fairly — or honestly — when dissolving their marriages.

What most people do not know is that hiding assets are not simply for high net worth divorces. It is something people of all financial means may attempt to keep more than their equitable share of the marital property.

Unfortunately, some may even go as far as concealing assets to keep them for themselves.

Others may even sell or gift assets to ensure they are not part of the marital estate.

One thing everyone should know is, our California laws require full disclosure of all property and money for division in a divorce. Our Land Legal Group Los Angeles family law Firm have a few tips for divorcing spouses to fully identify all the marital assets — which may be difficult to do if they are not in charge of the finances — so their future is not negatively impacted by their spouse’s deceit.

What Should I Look for if I Think My Spouse is Hiding Assets?

One of the most important factors when planning for a divorce — or when responding to a petition for divorce from your spouse — is to partner with an experienced Los Angeles divorce attorney who will know what patterns may suggest your spouse is concealing assets.

If you are not the one who handled the marital finances, it may be difficult to identify all the marital property, but we can help with that too. We will assist you in outlining an inventory of your finances and property to assign its current value.

We will ask a few simple questions that may provide insight into your spouse being dishonest about the valuation of your accounts. That may include whether the number of items or accounts listed in their spouse’s financial disclosure seems less than they expected, or if something seems unusual about the nature of the accounts.

Typically, when one spouse is hiding assets, he or she may have a history of dishonesty or secrecy in other important matters or has made it a point to exclude their spouse from their financial decision-making.

At Land Legal Group, we have professional relationships with experts who will assist in our investigation and inaccurate valuations, including forensic accountants, actuaries, appraisers, and others, so you do not have to do the leg work on your own.

Are You Worried Your Spouse is Hiding Assets During Your California Divorce?

If you are unsure about your marital finances or feel as if something is amiss with your spouse’s evaluation of your financial standing, contact our skilled divorce attorneys in Los Angeles today at (310) 552-3500 to learn how we can help you outline your complete assets, so there are no surprises once the divorce is final.

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