Divorces rarely bring out the best in people. While both spouses have made contributions to building and maintaining the life that they now have to dissolve, some may be tempted to try and inhibit their spouse’s access to a fair share of their marital property. These motivations can be heightened based on the fact that Colorado is an equitable distribution state. While many people would agree that the idea of losing 50% of their assets is dreadful enough, the principle of equitable distribution means that your spouse could end up with an even greater share. The idea of taking a minority share of your accumulated wealth can trigger some to try and take what they can before they get caught. Unfortunately, the growing world of digital currency and digital assets such as NFTs is making this easier than ever.
You can call on the trusted and proficient Denver hidden asset lawyers at Halligan, LLC to help should your spouse try to hide the wealth you are entitled to.
How Can NFTs Be Used to Hide Assets in a Divorce?
You may be aware of some of the more traditional means of depleting or concealing marital assets during a divorce. For instance, one party may begin making frequent cash withdrawals, even in small amounts, open a secret bank account, or sell valuable assets such as art, cars, and collectibles to friends at a suspiciously low price. All of these actions are taken with the intention of depleting the cumulative amount of marital wealth and ensuring that they get to keep more than the other spouse. This flies in the face of fairness and prevents the other spouse from getting an equitable divorce settlement, as required by Colorado law. NFTs can be a stealth and modern method of siphoning and concealing marital funds. Some NFTs can be worth hundreds, thousands, or even millions of dollars. There is no limit to the amount of money that can be spent on NFTs. NFTs can also be quickly sold, allowing your spouse to turn money into an NFT and an NFT into cryptocurrency that is deposited into their digital wallet, which you may know nothing about. This is, in part, because many lawyers do not know to look for them. Although NFTs have been in use for a while, they have only gained significant popularity within the last couple of years. This means that many attorneys have not adapted their techniques to include searches, discovery requests, and depositions based on cryptocurrency and NFTs. For this reason, it is critical to hire a lawyer who is experienced in litigating complex divorces that include digital assets such as NFTs, as well as cryptocurrency.
Finding Out if Your Spouse Has NFTs
Of course, one way of determining if your spouse has NFTs in their possession is to ask. However, if they have intentionally been using NFTs as a means of concealing marital assets, they are unlikely to tell you. Halligan LLC has experience in finding such hidden assets in the divorce process. For example, after the divorce is filed, your legal team at Halligan LLC will review tax returns and bank/financial statements to look for any capital gains or losses that may be tied to NFTs, and any frequent withdrawals, wire transfers, purchases at a cryptocurrency exchange, and purchases at NFT marketplaces, such as Opensea.io. A large amount of Amazon purchases or unfamiliar high-value Amazon purchases may also be a red flag, as it is possible for someone to purchase items off of Amazon for another who will then pay them in cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency will go directly to their digital wallet, so it provides a means to purchase NFTs without having to raise any alarms by actually buying Bitcoin or cryptocurrency.
How Can Halligan LLC Help You Find NFTs?
Regardless of whether you see any red flags in your cursory search, you should consult with an attorney any time you are preparing for a divorce. If you are entering a high-asset divorce or you have reason to believe that your spouse has been concealing assets or purchasing NFTs or cryptocurrency, your lawyer should review the financial documents and tax returns, after which your attorney may advise you to retain the services of a forensic accountant. This accountant can thoroughly review all financial statements and dig deeper into any possible instances of concealment. Your lawyer also has a number of things that they can do in addition to reviewing the initial financial documents. For starters, through the discovery process, your lawyer will have the opportunity to obtain all financial records, evidence of income, and NFT and cryptocurrency information from your spouse. If they fail to comply with these requests they will be subject to legal consequences. This is why it is so important to have an attorney who has handled cases like this before. Your lawyer must be aware that NFTs exist and know enough about them to ask the right questions and request the right documents. If you believe your spouse may be in possession of NFTs, you should bring this up when consulting with possible lawyers to gauge their knowledge and comfort level with the subject. You can also ask them directly about their experience uncovering concealed assets, particularly in the form of NFTs and cryptocurrency to determine whether they are a good fit for your needs.
Schedule a Consultation with Halligan LLC
The lawyers at Halligan LLC are experienced in litigating complex divorces and uncovered concealed assets, including those concealed through the use of NFTs, cryptocurrency, and other digital assets. Divorce has been around for a long time, but our methods are cutting edge, and we will fight to make sure you get the fair divorce settlement to which you are legally entitled.
Contact one of our knowledgeable Denver divorce lawyers at Halligan LLC today by calling 720-608-2361 to schedule a confidential consultation.