Naperville Attorneys for Hidden Assets in a Divorce

The way that marital assets will be divided is often the most contentious issue in many divorces. In some cases, parties involved in a divorce may try to hide assets in order to keep them from being included in the marital estate that would be divided. Sometimes, an individual will even try to waste or dissipate marital assets out of spite or anger. Fortunately, those going through a divorce have rights and the assistance of a skilled Naperville attorney can help ensure that you receive your fair share of the marital estate.

Finding Hidden Assets Can Require Significant Investigation

When a person going through a divorce hides assets, it can require significant investigation to uncover them. Hiding assets usually involves much more than shoving a pile of cash under the mattress – it can take the form of moving money into secret accounts, claiming that assets have been destroyed or lost, or creating fraudulent documents. Business owners have even more potential asset-hiding tools at their disposal, such as altering records, paying non-existent "employees," or undervaluing non-tangible business assets.

Identifying Asset Dissipation

While establishing that a spouse is hiding assets is relatively straightforward with the proper evidence, showing asset dissipation can be more complicated. The Illinois Supreme Court has defined asset dissipation as "use of marital property for the sole benefit of one of the spouses for a purpose unrelated to the marriage at a time that the marriage is undergoing an irretrievable breakdown."

Examples of conduct that could be viewed as dissipation include:

• Unnecessary purchases of luxury items
• Vacations
• Gambling
• Spending on a significant other or another third party

If the spouse challenging the use of the assets can establish dissipation, it could have a favorable effect on the way that the remaining marital property is divided.