A court expects both spouses to be honest when declaring their finances in a divorce. Yet some people are not.
Two ways spouses can try to cheat their partner out of funds are:
Hiding assets
Divorcing spouses sometimes look for ways to put money out of reach of their spouse, intending to retrieve it once the divorce is done. Places they might use include offshore accounts, cryptocurrency, an undeclared bank account or a safe deposit box in the shed. Other alternatives include passing it to a friend to hold until after the marriage, perhaps telling their spouse they were paying back money the friend loaned them. Or buying assets without telling their spouse and putting them in someone else’s name.
Dissipating assets
Dissipating assets is when a spouse tries their best to spend the money they have. They’d rather waste it than have to share it in the property division process. Typically this is done by a spouse who knows they can earn the money back more easily than their soon-to-be ex. They are willing to endure temporary difficulty in order to cause longer-term pain to the other party. However, some people can become so destructive during a divorce that they will burn through marital money even when that will cause them to struggle too.
Ways of dissipating assets include spending on expensive clothes, taking friends away on vacation or hitting the casinos in Las Vegas for a weekend.
If you suspect your spouse is being financially dishonest during your divorce then it is crucial to take legal guidance to give yourself the best chance of proving it and persuading a court to address the matter.