A recent poll reveals that more than half of millennials admit to fudging the truth regarding money matters when it comes to their partner or spouse. This might include undisclosed spending on a separate credit card or maintaining checking, savings, or other accounts without the other spouse’s knowledge. Lack of financial transparency, if discovered, can not only lead to problems in a marriage, but also in a divorce, where one spouse may worry that the other is hiding marital assets that should be divided.
Depending on the state you reside in, dividing property falls into two camps – community property states where everything acquired during the marriage is split 50|50, or equitable division states including Illinois, that split assets based on the circumstances of the marriage to include looking at things like the longevity of a marriage, or who brought what to the table in terms of income, child rearing and more.
During divorce proceedings a process of discovery is used to gather relevant financial information and both spouses are expected to provide accurate and truthful financial information. If one spouse attempts to hide assets, the discovery process will typically uncover these hidden assets, however sometimes it is necessary to dig deeper if off shore accounts or cryptocurrency is in play. If assets are only discovered after a divorce is finalized, a spouse can still recover what is legally theirs if their spouse was dishonest. He or she not only will face serious repercussions, but the newly discovered asset may be split or turned over to the other spouse 100 percent.
When you have questions regarding marital asset division in an Illinois divorce, contact Lake county family law attorney Ronald L. Bell for help at 847-495-6000.