In some California divorces, individuals with cryptocurrency assets will attempt to hide them from their spouses. Hiding assets from property division in divorce is a growing problem for many people since the owners and recipients of cryptocurrency are not easily identifiable. However, there are some ways that people may be able to identify and recover cryptocurrency assets from their spouses during divorce.
Figuring out whether your spouse has cryptocurrency assets
The first step is to determine whether your spouse likely possesses cryptocurrency assets. Since people who invest in cryptocurrency often like to talk about it, this should be fairly simple. If your spouse has talked about cryptocurrency in the past, he or she likely has invested in it. If you determine that he or she has cryptocurrency assets, you will then need to decide whether to pursue them since doing so can be expensive. If the investment was made before 2017, the assets may have substantially increased in value, making pursuing them worthwhile. You can also carefully review your spouse’s bank account statements to look for large incoming and outgoing transfers.
Working with an expert
Tracking down cryptocurrency assets will likely require you to work with a forensic blockchain expert. These professionals know the different types of cryptocurrencies and the exchanges on which they are traded. People going through high-asset division in divorce may be surprised by how much the cryptocurrency assets are worth.
Once cryptocurrency assets are identified, many people will agree to divide them during divorce. This is because refusing to do so could result in perjury and contempt charges. However, if necessary, an attorney experienced in handling high-asset divorce division matters may file subpoenas to uncover all the cryptocurrency holdings and seek court orders to freeze them.
