Regardless of how friendly a divorce seems, there are certain facets to the proceedings that can easily get lost in the shuffle. One of these is the division of the assets themselves. It is easy for people to get consumed with making sure the assets (and debts) are distributed evenly; however, they could very well forget to make sure that all of the assets are on the table. It is challenging to divide assets evenly if people are unable to know whether or not all of the assets have been revealed. Despite the intimate nature of marriage, it is still possible for people to hide assets from their spouse in the event that a divorce does arise.
One of the places that assets could hide is in overseas bank accounts. Across international borders, if the assets were never revealed during the marriage, the other spouse may not even know that the accounts exist. Money from the marriage that could technically belong to both parties may be hidden in such an overseas account. When the time for the divorce proceedings rolls around, these assets could then be hidden from any legal proceedings simply because they exist under the radar. It is important to take a look at where all of the funds from the marriage have traveled to ensure that everything is divided in a fair manner.
Another place that assets often hide are with relatives, Spouses could ask relatives to hold on to funds for them during the divorce proceedings until after the proceedings have been finished. While the assets may seem like they belong to the relatives, they could belong to one of the parties in the divorce instead. This is a common method that some spouses use to hide assets, particularly if they were in charge of the family's finances, until the assets have been divided. It is vital to follow the paper trail and make sure that funds aren't being hidden in the possession of one of the spouse's relatives or friends.
These are only two of the many ways that one spouse may try to hide certain financial assets from the other party during divorce proceedings. It is important for anyone going through a divorce proceeding to ensure that all of the assets from the marriage are in plain view to ensure an equitable division of the assets.