When you go through a divorce, you will also have to go through asset division. Unfortunately, some spouses do not want to do this and will try every trick in the book to get out of it.
This can include hiding assets via digital methods, which has unfortunately grown quite popular over the years.
Defining asset hiding
CNBC discusses digital asset hiding in modern couples. First off: what is asset hiding? This occurs when a person decides to try hiding assets in their entirety or the source of an asset from their spouse during divorce. By doing this, the goal is to keep from having to divide and share this asset with their spouse.
Digital asset hiding is a relatively new way of hiding assets in divorce, but it utilizes a relatively old-school train of logic.
How bitcoin obscures assets
Essentially, the person trying to hide their assets will transfer money into digital currency like bitcoin, or another type of cryptocurrency. They intend to sell the stock after the divorce gets finalized, or even keeping their stock and trying to generate more wealth. They do not have to share with you if you do not know this stock exists.
This is similar to another tactic in which the spouse trying to hide assets buys expensive things like televisions or vehicles. The intent is to return or re-sell the item after the divorce gets finalized so they can get their money back.
Of course, this is illegal. If you believe your spouse may be engaging in hiding assets, consider seeing what your next steps could look like.
