In order to get a fair assessment of your marital assets in a Maryland divorce court, you have to report all your assets. While you may be completely honest, your spouse may try to hide assets. It is important that you watch out for any activity that may be a sign he or she is trying to hide something from you and the court. If an asset is not revealed during the course of your court proceedings, it will not be including when the assets are divided and awarded by the court.
The Street warns that a spouse who is hiding assets may often resort to sneaky or secretive behavior. One example is hiding bank account statements or being extra secretive about his or her credit report. Such actions might be to keep you away from seeing just how much money he or she has or as a way of hiding secret accounts. Another common behavior is rushing to always get the mail. He or she may be trying to intercept mail before you can see it and discover a hidden asset.
You also should be aware of deferred-compensation plans at work. Make sure these are checked out if your spouse has access to them. This could include work benefits or stock options. Your spouse may try to get some income diverted into these options to keep it away from you.
Finally, you may watch out for large purchases, but it really is the small purchases to watch. If your spouse is suddenly buying a lot of little things and it doesn’t add up to be affordable or make sense with your income, then this could be a good sign he or she has assets you do not know about. This information is for education and is not legal advice.
