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Home » Nashville Divorce Attorneys | Tennessee Divorce Law | Turner Law » Property Division in Tennessee Divorce | Turner Law Offices » Uncovering Hidden Assets and Income in Tennessee Divorce Cases | Turner Law Offices

Uncovering Hidden Assets and Income in Tennessee Divorce Cases | Turner Law Offices

Finding Hidden Assets in Tennessee

Dishonest Spouses Often Hide Assets and Income During Divorce

If your spouse is secretive or has a reputation for being a liar, it might is crucial for you to thoroughly investigate and make sure that there is nothing being hidden from you that could sabotage a fair and equitable property division in your Tennessee divorce case.  Sometimes, a spouse may see the divorce process as an opportunity to hide assets or debts to gain an unfair advantage on the division of property.  Additionally, income might be concealed or understated if a spouse is trying to minimize child support or alimony obligations.  If your spouse is hiding important financial information from you, you will suffer significant financial harm because the court makes a division of known assets and liabilities.  Hidden assets and incomes can throw divorce proceedings completely off course depending on whether they are or aren’t uncovered before division.  There are options and procedures available for those who suspect their spouse is concealing finances.

How to Accurately Calculate Income During A Tennessee Divorce

Hiding Assets and Income in Tennessee Divorce CasesOne of the most delicate parts of a divorce is settling child support and alimony. It’s important that financial records accurately reflect the income of both spouses so that support can be accurately calculated.  To accurately calculate income for divorce purposes, a careful review of financial records for the current year and previous three (3) years must be thoroughly reviewed.  It is vitally important that complete documents be reviewed, i.e. income tax returns with all W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, and Schedules, especially for businesses, partnerships, and trusts.  To begin reviewing your spouse’s financial position, take the following steps:

  • Review tax returns.
  • Compare tax returns with records of financial statements.
  • Account for investments, review brokerage statements.
  • If necessary, impute income (in other words, a spouse suspected of under reporting income must give statement of actual purchase – imputing income can reveal where purchases and income don’t add up).

If you suspect that your spouse is hiding assets and/or income, alert your attorney at the beginning of your divorce case so that proper investigation can be done to uncover hidden assets and income.

Hiding Money Offshore and Offshore Income

Hiding Divorce Assets in Offshore AccountsDo you know whether your spouse has offshore accounts or business interests?  Does your spouse frequently or routinely travel to foreign locations known for having banking institutions that hide money?  Did you have plenty of money until the talk of divorce came up? If so, simply asking your spouse under oath about offshore accounts can protect you in the event that an offshore account is discovered post-divorce.  How will you know if your spouse is hiding money in an offshore bank account? It may be extremely difficult even for the best forensic accountant to uncover money that’s been fraudulently removed from the marital estate and taken offshore.  If suspect your spouse is using offshore accounts to hide assets or incomes during your divorce proceedings, your attorney knows professionals to hire and help investigate the existence of an offshore banking account.

Forensic Accountants Can Uncover Hidden Assets, Income, & Offshore Accounts

Tennessee Forensic AccountingAside from being an expert in uncovering hidden finances, forensic accounts are invaluable in that they provider expert testimony at divorce trials.  Experienced forensic accountants will not only have practical knowledge of the service provided, but will also have connections and resources available exclusively to professionals – allowing access to a wealth of information that most people can’t access or understand. Prior to hiring a forensic accountant, there are actions that should be undertaken by you and your divorce lawyer to reduce the time and expense of a complete forensic accounting:

  • First, review the complete tax returns thoroughly. Then, review them again and again.
  • If there are inconsistencies in your spouse’s tax returns, compare them with any financial statements given to a bank or financial institution.
  • Have your lawyer issue subpoenas to financial institutions for applications and financial statements provided by  your spouse.
  • Have your lawyer send interrogatories and requests for production of documents to uncover assets and income; then, after getting the documents, consult with a forensic accountant to uncover hidden assets.

Punishment for Hiding Asset and Income in Tennessee Divorce Cases

Punishment for Hiding Assets in DivorceAside from a potentially enormous financial disaster for the spouse found to have concealed assets and/or income, the credibility of that spouse is destroyed, and the court may make a finding of fact that the spouse is not credible.  The loss of credibility of a spouse can be more significant than the risk of concealing finances.  If a spouse is caught hiding income and/or assets after completing interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and/or testified under oath at deposition, punishment can include punishment for contempt of court and/or prosecution for perjury.  Additionally, the judge could award a larger portion of the recovered assets to the innocent spouse and award attorneys fees and forensic accounting fees to the spouse who intentionally hid or failed to disclose assets and/or income.

Hire A Tennessee Divorce Lawyer With Experience Uncovering Hidden Assets

Divorce is a very stressful process; going through a divorce with a dishonest spouse hiding assets and/or income is one of the most difficult types of divorce cases that we handle. You deserve a Nashville divorce attorney who is intimately familiar with employing forensic accounts to uncover hidden financial information; Turner Law Offices, P.C. has the knowledge, training and experience to work hard to uncover assets so you get a fair and equitable settlement.  Contact us today to start searching for suspected hidden assets or income before it is too late.  Call our office today or request your free initial consultation online.

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