Spouses must play by the rules when they decide to divorce. Regarding property division, Kansas operates under equitable distribution laws. When the court considers a property ruling, it is assumed both spouses have been honest in disclosing their assets and liabilities.
In a perfect world, that would always be the case. In reality, however, many spouses try to hide assets to keep them from being considered during property division proceedings. Not only is this unfair toward the other spouse, it is also illegal. A concerned spouse will want to enlist the aid of someone who knows how to investigate such matters, preferably someone who also knows how to bring a hidden asset problem to the court’s attention.
A spouse who is trying to beat the system might deny that certain assets exist. Another common scheme is to transfer money to a third party to hold until the divorce is finalized. To explain missing funds, the spouse might make up a story about loaning a friend money or paying back a debt to a family member.
Anyone in Kansas who has even the slightest suspicion that his or her former partner is trying to hide assets to gain an upper hand in property division proceedings will want to closely review the most current tax forms available. Signs of hidden assets can often be found there. In fact, some spouses overpay the IRS to hide money, knowing they will get it back as a refund after divorce. An experienced family law attorney knows how to resolve hidden asset problems and can provide strong support to someone wishing to investigate a particular situation.
