How can I know if my spouse is hiding money?

If you are like a lot of married couples in California, one person may take the lead in handling your family’s finances. This might be because one of you has particular expertise in this area or because one of you has a history of not managing money well. Regardless of the reason, Forbes indicates that this type of imbalance may open the door for the person who takes care of the money to hide assets from the other person. This can be especially harmful to one’s finances if this happens leading up to a separation or divorce. 

Hiding money may take many forms, including literally taking money and putting it into a secret bank or investment account. The missing money might not even be noticed by the person who is not involved with the finances. If the spouse does notice and ask, the hiding spouse might be vague in providing an explanation.

Hiding money may also take other less obvious forms. One spouse might ask their employer to postpone a payment for a bonus, commission or raise. If they own a business, they may even have additional places to move money or revise the books to show losses instead of profits. Money that is not found before a separation may not be included in the marital estate during a divorce. 

This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to let people in California have some idea of the type of things that may signal their spouse is hiding assets or money from them.