What If My Spouse Hid Money Before We Filed for Divorce?

 Posted on November 15, 2025 in Divorce

You know your spouse makes good money. You have lived a comfortable life together. But now that divorce is on the table, the financial picture your spouse is presenting does not add up. Bank accounts seem smaller than they should be. Assets have disappeared. You have a gut feeling that money is being hidden, but you do not know how to prove it.

Hiding assets during divorce is more common than most people think. Some spouses start moving money months or even years before filing. Others wait until divorce papers are served and then scramble to hide what they can. Either way, marital assets must be divided fairly and hiding assets is illegal. Our Warrenville, IL divorce attorney can help you find hidden assets and get a fair divorce decree.

Why Do Spouses Hide Assets During Divorce?

Money equals power in divorce. The more assets your spouse can hide, the less they figure they will have to share with you. Under 750 ILCS 5/503, marital property gets divided equitably. This means fairly, while taking many factors into consideration.

Some people hide assets because they feel entitled to keep what they earned. They think that because they made the money, it should stay theirs. But most property acquired during the marriage is marital property, regardless of whose name is on it.

What Are Common Ways Spouses Hide Money?

Knowing the tactics helps you spot the warning signs. Some methods are obvious while others take more investigation to uncover.

Giving Money to Family or Friends

Transferring money to family or friends is a classic move. Your spouse might ask a parent or sibling to hold cash or valuable items. They claim they are helping out a relative when really they plan to get the money back after the divorce. Some people even transfer property titles to family members.

Secret Bank Accounts

Opening secret bank accounts keeps money out of sight. These might be at different banks or even in other states. Your spouse may funnel money into these accounts slowly over time. They might use a post office box for statements so nothing comes to the house.

Overpaying Taxes or Credit Cards

Overpaying taxes or credit cards creates a falsely lower bank balance. Your spouse might pay the IRS more than required, planning to get a big refund after the divorce is final. Or they pay off a credit card completely and then run up charges again after divorce, knowing they will get the overpayment back.

Underreporting Income

Underreporting income is common with business owners and self-employed people. They claim business is slow when really they are just deferring income until after the divorce. They might delay signing contracts, hold off on billing clients, or ask employers to defer bonuses.

What Happens If the Court Finds Your Spouse Hid Assets?

Once discovered, those assets get added to the marital estate and divided according to Illinois law. Your spouse does not get to keep what they tried to hide, and the court may even award you a larger share of the marital property. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act allows judges to consider dissipation of assets. If your spouse wasted or hid marital property, the court can give you more of what remains to make up for it.

Your spouse might also have to pay your attorney fees. Fighting to uncover hidden assets can be very expensive. Judges often order the spouse who hid assets to pay the other spouse's legal costs for the discovery process.

Call a DuPage County, IL Divorce Lawyer Today

Contact Hensley Sendek Law at 630-358-9029 to discuss your divorce case. When you call, you will speak with an experienced Warrenville, IL divorce lawyer who has experience with high asset divorce cases, complex assets, and business valuation. You deserve a divorce settlement based on honest financial disclosure, and we can help you get it.