Hidden Assets in Divorce

Division of the assets can be a difficult subject to address during divorce, and even more difficult to carry out.
Before any division of assets can take place, all assets of the individuals must be itemized and valued.
When assets of a divorcing couple are assessed and then itemized, there are several ways to hide assets.
One could undervalue an item, use a valuable item as a decoy, or hide an important item altogether.
Divorce can be a very dishonest and hostile environment, it is important that you take the measures necessary to protect your livelihood as well as your rights throughout this process.
If you are facing a divorce, one of your main priorities should be to discover all assets and their proper value to ensure you are not being cheated out of what rightfully belongs to you.
If an asset has been hidden there are many ways to go about finding it.
The item could be a physical object that has been moved or stored at a yard, or at a friend's house.
Bank accounts are also something that a spouse may want to hide; this can be done overseas in an account under a different name.
This method is a little more elaborate, and can take a little more effort to uncover.
While secrecy and hiding valuables is a common occurrence, directly hiding an item is somewhat primitive and not generally successful.
A common way to hide an asset is to undervalue it.
When an item is discovered, such as an old car, one spouse may have extensive knowledge about the vehicle, and that it is worth over $50,000.
They might take advantage of the other spouse's ignorance and say the vehicle is only worth $5,000.
This is an example of undervaluing an asset.
If the spouse agrees to the $5,000 value, then the other spouse has walked away with an extra $45,000 essentially.
One other way that items are hidden is through a decoy.
A successful businessman who owns a company, and has a very substantial net worth as well as extensive liquid assets may deposit his money into a bank account overseas under a different name.
This way, he will make it seem like he was trying to hide a small portion of his liquid assets in a bank account or briefcase that was easily found, thereby taking away any suspicion of a larger fortune hidden elsewhere.