So You Suspect Your Spouse of Hiding Marital Assets?

Northern Virginia Family Law Firm Can Help

Arlington, Virginia Divorce Attorney Will Advocate for You

Divorce is a tenuous time for many couples, and unfortunately, some spouses make the situation worse by attempting to hide assets to avoid sharing them with their soon to be ex-spouse.

But the penalties for hiding assets can be extremely stiff, and may include:

• Monetary sanctions including receiving a smaller percentage of the marital assets
• Increased spousal support requirements
• Criminal penalties in certain situations

My Spouse is Hiding Assets – What Should I Do?

First of all, do not trust your spouse, if they are hiding assets, they are not going to tell you that they are doing this. You should ask your spouse to show you all of the sole and joint financial documents, account statements, tax records, past tax filings and other information, but if they are hiding assets, they won’t provide you the evidence to use against them. Your spouse may provide you some statements in an effort to create trust, but a wise person will do their own investigation and hire an attorney who is familiar with finding what is hidden from you.

Fortunately, a family law lawyer knows how to use the rules of court and the discovery process to help find information that is hidden from you by your spouse. The discovery process if used properly by your attorney, can yield important information to help you win your case. Cases can be lost and won during the discovery process, so it is very important to hire an attorney to help you get through the process. A family law attorney will know how to issue the proper discovery tools available to them and how to contact third parties to find documents that have not been voluntarily provided to you. An attorney can use the rules of court to force third parties like mortgage companies, banks, investment consultants, and retirement plan administrators to provide them statements on accounts that you may not know exist because your spouse hopes you won’t find this money. After you gather the evidence against your spouse, your attorney also has the right to take your spouse’s sworn deposition under oath which may be used against them at trial.

Contact an Experienced Virginia Family Law Attorney Today

If you suspect that your spouse is hiding marital assets and need legal advice, Claudia Zucker has experience with discovery, asset search, and investigation, and has been practicing family law in the Commonwealth of Virginia for more than 26 years. Contact us online or call (703) 596-1005 to set up your initial consultation with Attorney Zucker today. She is available via telephone, various forms of video communications, and in person to help you with your issues.