Questions About Unreported Income and Hidden Assets? Ask a Massachusetts Attorney.
Dividing assets and debts is seldom a straightforward process. People forget things or they dispute the value assigned to property. However, when one of the parties deliberately hides assets or income to exclude them in the child support or alimony obligation — or from the property division process — it is important to have an experienced lawyer to protect your interests and ensure that you are compensated fairly.
Consulting Experts and Specialists for an Accurate Evaluation
At The Massachusetts Family Law Group, our lawyers help clients with property division in divorce. One of our areas of focus is identifying everything to be included in the process — not just the property that the other party chooses to disclose. To this end, we consult with our statewide brain trust of forensic accountants, investigators, business valuators and appraisers to make sure that our client is being treated fairly by the legal system and his or her spouse.
In addition to tracing hidden assets, our attorneys make sure that there was no dissipation of property before the divorce complaint was filed. If you suspect your spouse of selling property with divorce in mind, we can help. Our investigators have uncovered schemes to dissipate assets before divorce. Our lawyers have succeeded in having our clients awarded a sum equal in value.
Hiding Assets and Income in a Business — It Happens
One asset that lends itself to tricks and schemes is the family business. Such an activity stems from substandard accounting practices. When small businesses take in a lot of cash, it is easy to hide that money. Other signs that your spouse may be hiding assets in the business include salary payments to an employee you have never seen, consulting fees to other family members for services never rendered, and even failure to collect accounts receivable or sign contracts for upcoming work. Each of these maneuvers lowers the value of the business for the purpose of valuation.
Other Strategies to Lower Assets
Other strategies to hide assets include:
- Undervaluation of property such as artwork, collections and expensive office furnishings
- Debt repayments for phony debts
- Unknown retirement accounts
- Income unreported on tax returns
- Traveler's checks
- Asking an employer to delay payment of bonuses or stock options
Legal Repercussions of "Hiding the Ball"
If you are caught hiding assets, underreporting income, or in any way trying to "hide the ball," the Worcester Probate and Family Court is almost sure to order you to pay the fees and expenses your spouse incurs in litigating the issue. You can be forced to forfeit the entire disputed item as a penalty for lying.
And your loss may include more than money alone. Your credibility with the court will be pretty well shot. As a result, the judge might decide not to believe any of your testimony on the disputed items. After all, if you were willing to lie under oath in court about one matter, why should you be believed on others?
Learn About Hidden Assets
Get answers to your questions at a FREE, no obligation consultation. We meet with clients at 5 a.m., at night or over the weekend. The best thing that you can do is educate yourself about the financial issues in your divorce case. Is your spouse in collusion with his or her employer to delay payment of bonuses or raises until after the divorce? Are there any custodial accounts set up in the name of a child, using the child's social security number? Is there any reference on your spouse's financial statement to safe deposit boxes? What size is the box and exactly what is in it?
Contact our Worcester hidden assets attorneys or call us at (800) 970-LAWYER.
