When the marriage starts heading south, it’s time to start paying attention to the finances – especially for spouses who never paid attention before. With some spouses, the window of opportunity to prove the existence of assets and that they are marital will close rapidly.
So it may be important to act quickly. And it may be necessary to engage various experts, ranging from divorce financial investigators to forensic computer analysts.
The things to look at, preserve and copy may include joint and the other spouse’s:
- Credit card receipts
- Credit reports
- Cellular phone bills
- Personal computers
- Laptop computers
- Cellular phones
- Text messages
- Secret e-mail addresses
- Internet surfing histories
- Offshore accounts
- Tax returns
- Safe deposit boxes
- Credit card statements
- Insurance documents
- ATM receipts
- Bank statements
- Brokerage account statements
- Other investment account statements
- And so on
Once you have your hands on them, study them, or have an expert do so.
Read more in this Olympian [WA] article: Spouse hiding assets? Learn how to protect yourself from secrets, lies.
