Assets question

[LiteWait]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CT

My wife has opened a bank account in the last few months in her own name and also a safety deposit box. I found she has been sneaking money into that account (cash back at grocery store, taking other rebate checks from credit cards, etc) and also money from her dog sitting business to fund that account. All my income (for 20 years I have been the sole provider) has always gone into our joint account. We are (of course) having major marital problems (her affair) and have been on the brink of divorce several times. She argues with me that she only has a couple of hundred dollars and won't show me the account.

Granted she has every (legal) right to do this, but of course she is obviously working on creating a safety net if she divorces (to her mind I am sure) will get screwed in the settlement (yeah right).

Question 1: Is the money in this account still considered a joint asset?
Question 2: Can she move that money to her safety deposit box (or bury it in the back yard I guess) to hide it as an asset?
Question 3: Is there anything I can do to protect myself here? In the event I file for divorce can I name the account and the safety deposit box as an asset? Will the court look closely at that account to see if she was showing a pattern of hiding assets?

Thanks.

 

[mistoffolees]

If you file for divorce, then she will have to list all assets. If they are marital (and it sounds like they are), you would be entitled to 1/2.

Now, if she hides something well enough, you might not find it - and the court can't do anything about it. If you get evidence later that she hid assets, you can go back to court and ask for 100% of what she hid as a penalty - or even other penalties, as well. But the problem is finding out about it if she doesn't leave a trail.

If you suspect that she's not disclosing something, you may need evidence to get the court to do anything about it. They're less likely to respond to "I think my wife is hiding something" than to "here is a document which shows my wife has an additional account she has not disclosed".

You could consider a forensic accountant, but this would be expensive and no guarantee of success. Unless you're talking about a lot of money, it's probably not worth it.

For the safe deposit box, you could ask the court for an order to the bank to refuse to open the box until you, your wife, and both attorneys are able to witness the opening of the box. This, of course, only makes sense if you think that she's hiding a great deal of value.

The penalties for hiding assets are pretty substantial, so I don't think it happens as often as people might guess. If her attorney is any good, he'll discourage her from doing it. If you use mediation, you can alway say "what about xxx account?" and it's pretty hard for her to flat out deny it.

 

[LiteWait]

Thanks for the reply. A follow-up question, just thinking about a likely scenario:

If I do file, and she (say) empties that account 2 days later and then presents that as the current assets in that account do I have any recourse?

Since it (probably) isn't that much money 2-3K it isn't worth getting nasty about, but clearly if she is stupid enough to pull that maneuver I think I'd be able to show deception.

 

[mistoffolees]

Thanks for the reply. A follow-up question, just thinking about a likely scenario:

If I do file, and she (say) empties that account 2 days later and then presents that as the current assets in that account do I have any recourse?

Since it (probably) isn't that much money 2-3K it isn't worth getting nasty about, but clearly if she is stupid enough to pull that maneuver I think I'd be able to show deception.

Typically, when you file for divorce, both parties get a default order that forbids them from squandering assets or hiding assets (it also covers things like taking children out of the country, etc). If she does that after receiving the divorce filing, she's not just hiding marital assets, but she's also in contempt of court.

You could explain to the court what she's done - and ask them to order her to show where the money went.

However, even if the money disappeared, that doesn't mean she did anything wrong. She might have spent it on legitimate expenses (living expenses, attorney's fees, etc).

 

[LdiJ]

Typically, when you file for divorce, both parties get a default order that forbids them from squandering assets or hiding assets (it also covers things like taking children out of the country, etc). If she does that after receiving the divorce filing, she's not just hiding marital assets, but she's also in contempt of court.

You could explain to the court what she's done - and ask them to order her to show where the money went.

However, even if the money disappeared, that doesn't mean she did anything wrong. She might have spent it on legitimate expenses (living expenses, attorney's fees, etc).

Which is honestly, what her entire intentions very likely are. She likely wants to make sure that she has the cash to retain an attorney and cover basic living expenses until the property settlement is worked out.

Most likely what's in her safety deposit box are her important papers.

As Misto said, just like you will be able to spend money on necessary living expenses and an attorney, so will she. If you have been the sole breadwinner for the last 20 years, the only way she is going to be able to do that is if she squirrels some money away in just her name.