Divorce attorney in RichmondWhen there is suspicion that there are assets being hidden during a divorce, your attorney will take certain steps during an investigation to try and find evidence for the hiding of assets.

Studying Bank Statements

The bank account from a marriage is generally a solid place to start to get an idea of the couple's financial standing. Bank statements from the marriage will list what money went in and out of the account. With a bank statement, the listing of transactions will be an indicator if there is missing income. If there have been any withdrawals, transfers to a separate account or anything that might appear to be unusual, the bank statement will either clarify or spur a deeper investigation.

Using Check Registers

In general, bank statements don't give in-depth details of every transaction made. Because of that it will be required that the couple's check register be obtained. Accountants use this term to describe the checkbook the couple used and how they kept track of their deposits and spending. Customarily, there are three kinds of check registers.

One is when the couple simply writes their financial transactions in the back of their checkbook. A second is via copies that are created whenever a check is written. A third way is electronic. An increasing number of people are shunning checkbooks and paper statements in favor of electronic statements. If a person pays bills by transferring money from their account without writing a check, this is a paperless transaction. Your divorce attorney will be able to search for hidden assets using all forms of records.

Other Strategies

If the divorce is particularly difficult or there might have been criminal activity involved, one route your divorce attorney might pursue to uncover hidden assets is to acquire the canceled checks themselves. Due to its cost, the practice of returning customers' canceled checks has declined significantly as technology use has increased. Your attorney will still be able to acquire canceled checks if it is necessary, but there will be accompanying fees. Prior to taking steps to get canceled checks, it is wise to discuss whether or not the checks will be needed for the investigation and if it is worth it financially.