An important aspect of divorce proceedings is deciding how to properly divide the marital assets. However, if one partner hasn’t been entirely honest when it comes to the disclosing of those assets, the other might end up with far less of his or her fair share. Nevertheless, there are steps that may be taken to ensure that nothing is hidden during asset division of an Oregon divorce proceeding.
Though some may think that hidden assets aren’t all that common, research show differently. In fact, for every three marriages in America, roughly two have hidden funds of some sort. In some instances, this is referred to as financial infidelity. However, discovering hidden assets may be as simple as checking an email account and finding a communication with important financial information.
Sometimes, there may be concerns that the other party to a divorce proceeding may be hiding more serious assets, such as a real estate investment or even another home. If so, a tax return may reveal the existence of other property. Additionally, a spouse could insist they don’t have a pension account when they do, or claim that there is only one such account when there are multiple ones.
Although most Oregon couples likely hope that their spouse would not hide important assets from them during the course of their marriage, it sadly still occurs. During a divorce, when an individual suspects that the other is not being entirely honest when it comes to asset division, procedures such as direct negotiations or even mediation may not be enough. Instead, divorce litigation in court may be necessary to achieve the desired result. This move may indeed uncover hidden assets that may now fairly be divided.
Source: The Huffington Post, “Uncovering Hidden Assets in Divorce Litigation“, David Centeno, Aug. 15, 2014
