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Dissipating assets is different than hiding them

On Behalf of | Jul 1, 2024 | Divorce

If you’re going through a contentious, high-asset divorce, your spouse may be looking for ways to keep you from getting your fair share of the marital assets. It’s important to watch out for signs that they are trying to hide these assets. For instance, if they transfer assets to a family member, they may just be trying to set them aside so they can get them back after the divorce.

Another tactic is known as dissipating assets. This accomplishes a similar goal, but it’s much different than hiding assets.

Frivolous spending 

Essentially, dissipating assets means spending them in a frivolous manner, just to get short-term enjoyment out of them. By quickly spending down the money that the two of you own as a couple, your spouse can reduce what you get in the divorce. 

For instance, say the two of you have saved up $100,000. The account is a marital asset and would have to be divided during the divorce. 

But your spouse uses the month before the divorce spending $50,000 on traveling, entertainment, food, drinks and other things that can’t be returned and have no tangible value. As a result, the two of you split the remaining $50,000 in the divorce, and you only get $25,000 total. By dissipating these assets, your spouse was able to spend some of the money that would have otherwise been allotted to you.

Of course, there are legal options if you believe that this is happening. The court may rule that you get additional assets to make up for the money that was wasted, for example. But it is important to know exactly what legal steps to take because this can be a very complicated situation and you may be in for a divorce dispute.