Many states, including Indiana, have a statute of limitations in regard to assets in divorce. So when the divorce decree is signed and spouses become ex-spouses, there is a chance the divorce is not completely final.
was contacted by an ex-wife because she suspected her ex-husband of withholding significant assets during the divorce proceedings. How did she know? Here’s her story:
The couple owned a home during their marriage and it was not very well maintained. When they divorced, both reported that they could not afford to keep the home on their individual incomes, so the home was to be sold. Once the real estate agent came through, there were several repairs that had to be made prior to listing it. The judge decided during the divorce that the husband would be responsible for the cost of those repairs.
When the contractor tried to arrange an appointment to go over the work order and finalize the deal, he kept putting him off complaining he couldn’t afford the repairs – but secondly, he couldn’t meet with the contractor because he was out of town. He was actually on vacation – 3 different times – with his girlfriend each time and his children on one trip. If he couldn’t afford the repairs, his ex-wife wondered, how can he afford all these trips?
During their marriage, their finances would not allow them to vacation like this and she started wondering how his situation could have possibly changed so significantly. So she dropped that question on our desk and asked us to find out whatever we could.
A hidden asset investigation is not just about finding hidden bank accounts. It is also finding hidden money in other investments and finding unknown accounts perhaps through a business asset search. That was the case here. This woman’s ex-husband was putting money into his business accounts and then letting the business pay his bills. It appeared, on the surface, that he had little income.
His paying his personal bills through his business account pierced the corporate veil and our divorce asset investigator was then able to get a broader financial picture.
A broad financial picture gives an unknown asset search investigator the leads to conduct thorough asset investigations and recovery.
In this case, was able to locate unknown assets. The divorce was set aside and re-heard. This time, the missing assets were evidence the ex-husband was hiding money in a divorce situation. The second settlement included the true assets in the divorce.
So, if you suspect that there wasn’t a true accounting of marital assets at the time of your divorce but you don’t know how to find hidden assets, contact within the statute of limitations. Our hidden asset investigator can conduct a personal asset search or perhaps a business asset search to uncover the truth.
-Brenda McGinley, CEO, All in Investigations, All in Investigations
