PA: Possibly Hiding Assets? Go Directly to Jail – Indefinitely
Any spouse who has ever toyed with the foolish notion of hiding assets in a divorce should permanently extinguish the thought. Don’t take my word for it.
Heed the words of supporters of H. Beatty Chadwick, Esq. According to an editorial in The [Philadelphia] Daily Times, a now-elderly attorney has been in jail for ten years on his then-wife’s motion for civil contempt for the husband’s alleged non-compliance with the court’s order on property division.
A forensic accountant appointed by the court earlier this year audited the husband’s assets and reported to the court recently that it could find no evidence that the husband controlled the funds that he had been held in contempt over.
Further, the article suggests that, at the time of the original contempt hearing, the wife never had to prove that the assets in question existed in fact and were under her husband’s control before he was incarcerated.
No matter what the circumstances of your divorce are, hiding assets isn’t worth it.
