Protecting your interests will usually be the main priority when you start thinking about divorce. How you divide your property will have a major impact on your future financial stability.
In Florida, you should receive a fair or equitable portion of the marital estate. If you need to have a judge decide who gets to keep which property, factors ranging from your health and the length of your marriage to your custody arrangements and separate property will influence the fairest and most reasonable way to divide your assets.
Unfortunately, spouses who are angry about divorce might try to manipulate the outcome by hiding assets from their spouse and the courts. How would hidden assets affect your proceedings?
You might accept an unfair settlement
Whether you negotiate directly with one another or litigate, you should be able to rely on having accurate information about your marital estate. When your spouse intentionally misrepresents what assets they own or their value, you might not receive a fair outcome.
If they completely exclude an asset, you won’t receive even a portion of its value as you should. In cases involving someone hiding the value of assets by under-reporting what they are worth, you might accept a fraction of what you could receive if you were to look into the true value of your marital property.
Especially when emotions have run high and you suspect that your spouse might want to lash out at you, it may be worthwhile to discuss the possibility of hidden assets with your lawyer so that you can hold your spouse accountable if they engaged in some sort of financial misconduct. If you locate hidden assets the courts may alter how they divide your property to penalize your spouse for their bad behavior.
Looking for hidden assets can be a worthwhile endeavor for those with complicated property who want a fair outcome to their property division proceedings in Florida.