When parties are about to separate or during separation-or where your spouse intends to separate but you have no idea, you may notice your bank accounts, assets. and other money and assets disappear. You may see bank account balances decrease. You may notice credit card balances and debts are increasing. Your spouse may be taking money out of the home equity line of credit. Maybe you observe your spouse changing his/her lifestyle, such as staying out, traveling for pleasure, and partying-spending money on frivolous matters or spending more that he/she has historically spent. Traveling for “work” more often. Traveling for “work” during the weekends. You are trusting. You don’t want your family broken up. You don’t’ see the clues. You don’t want to see the clues. Your spouse is manipulative.
Alarm bells should be going off. This is a Five Alarm Fire that you to put out immediately. Act now!
Call a divorce lawyer.
Your spouse could be hiding assets or property before the separation or during separation to deprive you of your legal share. He or she may be doing irreparable damage to your finances.
There are many ways your soon to be ex can be ripping you off. Here are some: transferring assets to his or her family members or friends for safekeeping to be return after divorce; increasing spending or overusing credit cards. Depleting marital funds – money acquired and saved during the marriage from either of your employment — for non-marital purposes. This could show itself in spending excessively on such things as alcohol, travel, gifts and travel for his/her friends-and girlfriends and boyfriends. Going out and picking up the restaurant or bar tab for all his friends. Running off to Las Vegas to gamble away your money. Changing the title of property in his or her name only and transferring the title to his family or friends to conceal the asset from you. Paying off fake debts to his or her friends with the understanding that his or her friend will repay your spouse after the divorce. Taking (read: stealing) stuff out of safety deposit boxes, safes, or from the house-and making valuables disappear. Keeping money tied up in a business (retained earnings) to be distributed after the divorce. Opening up new bank accounts, off shore bank accounts, and bitcoin. In sum, there are myriad ways your spouse may be hiding or wasting assets so you get nothing in the divorce.
