A Closely-Held Business as a Means of Hiding Assets

One of the major challenges any family law firm experiences is determining whether one of the spouses has hidden assets from the other. A business enterprise with which one of the spouses is affiliated closely is often a place where such assets are squirreled away.

A Business Venture Makes Valuing the Estate More Complex
It is often the case that when one or both spouses see that the marriage is nearing to an end, a determination to stash away assets occurs. As your lawyer at Smith Strong will tell you, it is often necessary to conduct an investigation into bank accounts and other assets to determine whether such hiding of assets has taken place. When one of the spouses either owns, is a partner of or has significant control of a company, the bank accounts of the business must be looked over as well. Check registers and bank statements must be matched against company books.

Conducting the Investigation
In his investigation, your attorney will need to review how money is brought into the business and look into any interbank transfers. If the investigation reveals any unusual bank transactions, there may be a need to look even further. Your attorney will consider in looking over the check registers who received funds, when, the amounts of transactions and the purpose for which they were made.

As a business owner, you can expect that you will be questioned about any transactions which appear unusual or out of place. It is not necessary that payments be made to off-shore accounts for a red flag to be raised.

The investigation can reveal delicate information that, nonetheless, bears upon the divorce proceedings. For instance, your attorney may find payments to relatives who ostensibly will put away the money for your spouse until after the divorce. He might also discover payments to questionable vendors or evidence of credit cards that were not reported in the required account of assets. Indeed, you should be prepared should your attorney discover payments made to a girlfriend or boyfriend, as the case may be.