Any number of issues may have led to your divorce. Like most Colorado married couples, you and your spouse probably went through good times and bad times throughout the years of your marriage. Regardless of what you consider to have been the final straw in determining that your relationship was no longer sustainable, the main focus now is to achieve a fair and agreeable settlement, so that you and your children (if you have any) are prepared to adapt to a new lifestyle.
All sorts of legal complications can delay your settlement. Sometimes, it might be clerical obstacles, such as someone forgot to sign a document. Other delays might occur if you need to request a schedule change for court proceedings due to other circumstances in your life. If, on the other hand, the legal problems you are facing have to do with suspicion that your spouse is hiding assets, you’ll want to bring the matter to the court’s attention immediately.
Go to court, armed with proof
If you plan to formally accuse your ex of trying to keep certain marital property from being subject to division, the court will task you with providing evidence to prove the allegations. The following list includes signs that the playing field regarding marital property may not be as even as it’s supposed to be:
- If you notice your spouse making an increased amount of financial transactions, such as investments or moving money from one place to another, it may be an attempt to create a smokescreen, thereby making it difficult to locate specific assets.
- If you ask your spouse about property, money, or other asset-related issues and instead of providing answers, he or she becomes defensive or combative, there may be a hidden asset problem.
- Spouses often hide assets by making numerous purchases of luxury items. If your spouse’s expenses and spending do not coincide with the typical cost of living in your area or in your household, you may want to further investigate the matter.
- If statements are showing up that you don’t understand, such as receipts for rent to a landlord in another state or money withdrawn from a joint account without your knowledge, it warrants immediate inquiry.
- Paying back loans that were never made is another common hidden asset trick. Spouses often get friends or family members to hold cash for them until they finalize their divorce.
It’s undoubtedly upsetting to think that the person to whom you were once married would do something so underhanded, just to keep you from getting what belongs to you in divorce. Sadly, it happens a lot in Colorado and across the nation. The good news is that there are officials at the ready who can help you halt a hidden asset problem in its tracks, for not only is hiding assets in divorce a nasty thing to do, it is also illegal.