Cryptocurrencies present new issues that could make a Texas divorce more complicated. Those who are familiar with these new financial instruments may be able to use them to hide assets. It may take some effort to be able to trace them.
One of the notable features of cryptocurrencies is that they may enable owners to hide their ownership interest. When both parties need to list their assets in a divorce, some may try to omit their ownership of cryptocurrencies. In one case, the spouse’s deception was only spotted after they were forced to produce their checking account statements during discovery. The other spouse’s attorney was then able to spot that there were checks to and from a cryptocurrency exchange. However, if a spouse is more familiar with cryptocurrency, they may be better able to hide their tracks to their ownership is untraceable.
This will become a larger issue in the future as more households begin to own cryptocurrency. It may give spouses a vehicle to hide assets in a divorce by making large cryptocurrency purchases and not disclosing them. Divorce judges dislike it when spouses try to hide assets in a divorce and will often punish the spouse that is caught engaging in this behavior. However, they must know that the spouse is hiding assets and that is a difficult finding to make when assets are not traceable.
In a high-asset divorce, one should seek legal help as soon as possible to make sure that the other spouse is not doing something that could affect their ability to receive their share of the marital estate. The attorney may be able to receive the other party’s financial records in discovery and can give close scrutiny to them to make sure that they are not hiding any assets from their spouse.