If you’re in the middle of a divorce or know divorce is looming, you may be interested in finding hidden assets. Common places to find hidden assets include: separate accounts, spousal friends that may transfer ownership or assets to another person, or even overpaying the Internal Revenue Service.
Consider the game of account roulette. One of the most common things people do when trying to hide assets is open a separate account. Your spouse could pull money from anywhere or just shuffle it from one bank to another without your knowledge; unless you really look into it, there is no telling how a family court would ever find out.
If your spouse has a close friend, look their way for potential hidden assets. If so inclined, a person facing divorce may transfer ownership or assets to another person without their spouse’s knowledge. If another person owns the property or has control of the money, your spouse doesn’t actually have to claim it during divorce proceedings, and if you don’t know the transfer took place, you may not realize what is missing.
Check out the IRS. An effective way of hiding assets is by overpaying the Internal Revenue Service. Although making it work takes an abundance of planning and almost perfect timing, doing so can take months to sort out; by that time, the divorce may be over and your spouse may be the lucky recipient of a refund check.