When dealing with divorce, some spouses want to do everything they can to keep as many assets as possible.
This could even extend to someone attempting to hide assets either passively or actively. If that happens, how can you tell?
Passive asset hiding
Forbes discusses some of the most commonly overlooked assets. These assets usually end up passively hidden. What is passive asset hiding? Simply put, it is one spouse having knowledge of an asset and simply keeping quiet about it in the hopes that their partner forgets that it exists and thus leaves it undivided.
Assets that fall into this category typically include things like country club memberships or airline mileage. They are items easy to forget about. Generally speaking, people attempting to hide assets in a passive way do not do much to actually hide them, so a person may not spot as many red flags.
Active asset hiding
With active asset hiding, however, the signs usually stand out a lot more. This is because people actively hide assets by going out of their way to obscure or cover a source of assets or an entire asset, so they have more to do and more to obscure.
Potential red flags
Two of the biggest warning signs relate to a person’s behavior toward finances, as well as their spending habits. Many people hiding assets will drastically switch up their spending habits, either reducing or increasing in great amounts.
Additionally, asset-hiders may become increasingly furtive and secretive about sharing any personal or financial information at all. If a person notices these behaviors, they could indicate potentially hidden assets.
