An Ohio divorce requires that spouses make some very challenging decisions. Oftentimes, they will need to negotiate with one another to settle property division matters. Separating financial resources can often be the biggest source of conflict in an Ohio divorce.
Both spouses likely want to retain as much of the marital estate as they can. Some people employ very high-pressure negotiation tactics or otherwise try to manipulate the situation to their own advantage. Occasionally, people will cross an ethical and legal line by intentionally hiding assets from both their spouse and the Ohio family courts.
Discovering such misconduct is key to protecting oneself from an unfair property division outcome. How can people locate hidden assets during an Ohio divorce?
Review disclosures and records carefully
The easiest way to find hidden assets is to go over financial records from the marriage. One spouse may discover that the other skimmed income from marital accounts to fund a secret savings account. Other times, people find that their spouses intentionally omitted valuable personal property from the inventory of assets they provided. They may have physically moved those items elsewhere to hide them. There are many underhanded ways that people may try to manipulate what resources their spouse lays a claim to and the courts seek to divide.
Secure professional review
The average person may not have the skill to adequately review financial records for discrepancies. Many individuals preparing for divorces with complex holdings decide to hire a forensic accountant to review their financial documentation. Financial professionals can sometimes identify questionable records or locate assets that someone has tried to hide. Some people may be able to identify warning signs of hidden assets and hidden marital value by going over the inventory of assets themselves. They may realize that a spouse did not include certain property or reported an unrealistically low value for specific assets. These individuals may still benefit from professional support to locate and value hidden assets.
If someone locates hidden assets during their divorce, they can claim their fair share of the marital estate and potentially even inform the courts of their spouse’s misconduct. Additionally, those who find hidden assets after the end of a divorce are in one of the few scenarios where revisiting a property division decree may be possible. Either way, finding and reporting hidden marital assets can help people secure a more reasonable outcome during an Ohio divorce.