Hiding marital assets during a divorce action can significantly change the outcome of several issues. If a spouse hides assets, it can impact the amount of child support and spousal support. It also prevents the innocent spouse from receiving their fair share of marital assets. A North Carolina family law attorney has the resources and experience to investigate allegations of hidden digital assets and other concealed assets your spouse is hiding from you.
What Are Digital Assets?
When you hear the term “digital assets,” you might assume it means cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is a digital asset, but it is only one example. Anything you can buy, sell, store, and hold online is a digital asset.
Examples of digital assets include, but are not limited to:
- Cryptocurrency
- Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Social media accounts, email accounts, blogs, etc.
- Online work platforms for freelancers, such as Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer
- Streaming media accounts and media accounts holding purchased digital media, including books, music, gaming platforms, and videos
- Photographs and videos
- Online financial accounts
- Reward and/or loyalty accounts
- Virtual storefronts, such as Etsy
- Web domains and income-generating websites and social media sites
Unfortunately, it can be easy to hide digital assets, which is why spouses transfer hard assets into digital assets. Fortunately, with the help of a divorce lawyer and a skilled investigator, you can uncover hidden digital assets.
How Can You Find Your Spouse’s Hidden Digital Assets?
Obviously, some digital assets are worth more than other digital assets. For example, some digital assets could be worth a few hundred dollars. However, other digital assets could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
For example, your spouse could use thousands of dollars from your joint account to purchase a digital work of art. Unless you pay close attention to your bank account, you might not realize your spouse converted marital property into a digital asset in their name. Likewise, your spouse could transfer money from your joint account to an online “creditor” they created to pay a monthly “bill.” The monthly charge might appear like another bill.
Ways that you can find hidden digital assets include, but are not limited to:
- Carefully review all bank account and credit card statements for online purchases. Look for names of cryptocurrencies (i.e., Coinbase, Kraken, Coinmama, etc.). If you are unsure whether a purchase is a legitimate expense, search the vendor’s name for more information.
- Review loan and credit applications. Your spouse might list digital assets on these applications.
- Check all electronic devices for apps necessary to manage cryptocurrency and other digital assets.
- Review your tax returns to determine if your spouse reported owning digital currency.
- Hire a forensic expert to search for digital assets.
A family law attorney uses various tools to uncover hidden digital assets during the discovery process, including subpoenas, depositions, and interrogatories. Your attorney may also discuss hiring investigators trained in locating hidden assets to assist with the investigation. Discovering hidden digital assets during a divorce could result in a substantially higher property settlement.
Contact Our North Carolina Family Law Attorney for More Information
Spouses must complete financial affidavits during a divorce proceeding. Some spouses lie about their assets to avoid property division. Locating hidden assets can profoundly change the outcome of your divorce case. Contact our law office to speak with a North Carolina family law attorney to discuss your case and how we can help you.