Find Out If Your Spouse is Hiding Assets: Expert Tips

The popular concept of marriage is that it's supposed to represent a shared life—particularly when it comes to honesty about finances. But, as these things tend to go, the reality doesn't quite match the dream. According to a new Harris Poll, more than two in five partnered Americans (43%) say they've withheld financial information or lied about it to a significant other. And almost half of Americans (49%) believe it's OK to have savings your significant other doesn't know about. In the event your relationship ends, one partner hiding assets from another could seriously affect major matters such as the divorce settlement, alimony, or child support. So how do you know if your seemingly up-and-up partner is concealing financial holdings from you? A financial planner recently offered some advice. 

"Probably the most asked question I get with working with women and helping them prep for a divorce and get through a divorce is how to find hidden assets," financial planner Marissa Reale said in a recent TikTok video.  Reale, who says she's advised more than 300 clients on how to get through a divorce, said the first place to look is the spouse's tax return: specifically, the Schedule A of itemized deductions. 

Schedule A can "help you identify unlisted assets or income that you might not know about," Reale says. "For example, on here you have to report mortgage interest, so you might see a rental property you didn't know about."  This form is also where a taxpayer must report winnings or losses. "If your spouse is gambling, you can also see it here too," she says.

The next places to look, she explains, are Schedules B and C. On Schedule B, "you're going to see any interest or dividends. If there's dividends, that means there's investment accounts."  Schedule C shows profit or loss from a business. It's where a taxpayer must report depreciation, which is normally added back into the income. That can tip you off if there are any hidden assets.  "Last, the capital gains and losses will show when you sell a stock, a bond, or anything that creates an investment loss or an investment gain," says Reale.

Reale has advised that women who are getting divorced often fall prey to financial illiteracy—most quickly accept the family home in a divorce settlement when splitting their ex's 401(k) retirement account might be a wiser plan.  Too often, divorcing women accept a settlement with immediate benefits—such as the home, for comfort's sake—instead of considering the long term, she says. 

Data from the Government Accountability Office shows that the average divorced woman's household income falls by 41 percent after the dissolution of a marriage.  "Women often want to take the family home in a divorce because of the comfort aspect," says Reale. "But the problem is that the home requires more upkeep and mortgages. I always recommend only taking the home if the maintenance takes up less than 30 percent of your income."