If you’re facing a divorce, then you need to concern yourself with whether your spouse is engaging in financial infidelity.
What is financial infidelity, you might ask? Financial infidelity is when a spouse hides money, expenses, assets and possessions from their partner. Has your spouse been engaging in such a practice? Would you even know?
How common is financial infidelity?
Having separate or secret financial holdings is quite common in relationships in the United States. A recent survey found that 12 million Americans have bank accounts or credit cards that their significant other is unaware of.
Nearly half of Americans have admitted to some form of financial infidelity. Almost 50% say they do not know how much their spouse makes and cannot estimate the amount within $25,000.
Why does financial infidelity matter?
Financial issues are one of the leading causes of relationships coming to an end. It’s important for couples to have a working knowledge and understanding of each other’s financial situation. They need to know how much each other makes, what kinds of debts and financial obligations they have, and what their spending habits and retirement plans are.
If you are in the process of getting a divorce and do not have a firm knowledge of your spouse’s assets and earnings, it could make getting a fair settlement very difficult. You would have to get a forensic accountant to come in and perform an investigation of their assets.
It might be relatively easy to get copies of your spouse’s most recent tax returns; however, some other documentation may be more difficult to acquire. You would need to potentially know which banks they do business with. It would be important to know whether they have businesses they own and any financial dealings in other states or countries.
Going through a divorce is stressful. However, the divorce process can become far more complicated when your spouse potentially has hidden assets. You may find it helpful to continue perusing our website to learn more about property division and divorce here in California.
