If you lie during discovery or your deposition in order to hide assets, you've committed perjury (a punishable crime). If your lies are discovered by your spouse, your spouse's attorney, or a judge, you may face severe sanctions (monetary fines) or a perjury charge.
For your personal assets, such as your home you can hide your ownership in a land trust; and your cars you can hide in title holding trusts. These documents can keep your association with these items out of the public records.
The Short Answer: Yes. The IRS probably already knows about many of your financial accounts, and the IRS can get information on how much is there. But, in reality, the IRS rarely digs deeper into your bank and financial accounts unless you're being audited or the IRS is collecting back taxes from you.
Can You Empty Your Bank Account Before Divorce? However, doing so just before or during a divorce is going to have consequences because the contents of that account will almost certainly be considered marital property. That means it will be an equitable division in the divorce settlement.
If you live in one of the community property states – Arizona, Wisconsin, California, Washington, Idaho, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico or Nevada – the law treats all the money you saved as being equally owned by both of you.
Financial infidelity is when couples with combined finances lie to each other about money. Examples of financial infidelity can include hiding existing debts, excessive expenditures without notifying the other partner, and lying about the use of money.
Legally speaking, there is nothing wrong with having a separate bank account. You aren't required to keep joint accounts or file joint tax returns. You aren't even required to legally tell your spouse about your secret account, that is, until divorce proceedings start.
Finding secret bank accounts is possible, but it is not something that a divorce attorney will be able to do. You will need to enlist the help of a forensic accountant or a private investigator in order to find this information.
Your first option is to ask your spouse for copies of all pertinent financial records. If your spouse refuses or if you believe certain documents are being withheld, chances are that your spouse is hiding assets.
A cash deposit of $10,000 will typically go without incident. If it's at your bank walk-in branch, your teller banking representative will verify your account information and ask for identification.
Depositing a big amount of cash that is $10,000 or more means your bank or credit union will report it to the federal government. The $10,000 threshold was created as part of the Bank Secrecy Act, passed by Congress in 1970, and adjusted with the Patriot Act in 2002.
Under the Bank Secrecy Act, banks and other financial institutions must report cash deposits greater than $10,000. But since many criminals are aware of that requirement, banks also are supposed to report any suspicious transactions, including deposit patterns below $10,000.
Assets that you have built up or acquired during the period of marriage are known as matrimonial assets or marital assets. These typically include property, pensions, savings, personal belongings, and cash in the bank.
Some people keep money secrets in their desire to have control over their finances. Others hide money because they're embarrassed over the way they handle it. But when partners have financial secrets, it's a sign of deeper relationship concerns.
If there are hidden assets, the judge cannot make a valid decision. Because each party is required to divulge all assets, hiding assets during a divorce amounts to contempt of court. A judge may issue sanctions and require the spouse who is found to have hidden assets to pay the other's legal fees.
You Retain Access to Your Shared Money if Something Happens to Your Spouse. While keeping separate accounts helps you maintain some financial independence and autonomy in your relationship, it also makes your partner's money inaccessible to you.