My Ex Hid Assets During Our Divorce: What Can I Do?

Discovering that your former spouse concealed assets during your divorce can feel like serious betrayal. After all, each party to a divorce is required to disclose all of their assets and liabilities – neither party is allowed to hide anything. Once the divorce is final, if you learn that your ex concealed assets from you in the divorce, is there anything you can do to get what is owed to you under the law?

If you find yourself in this situation in Illinois, there are likely legal remedies available. If you suspect your ex hid assets in your divorce, the first thing to do is contact an Illinois Divorce Attorney to schedule a consultation and formulate a plan of action.

The Legal Duty to Disclose Assets in an Illinois Divorce

In Illinois divorce cases, both parties are required to fully disclose all assets, income, debts, and expenses. There is an approved Illinois Financial Affidavit form dedicated to this purpose, and there are lots of rules around how and when this form should be filled out in a family law case.

• Cook County Circuit Court Rule 13.3.1 mandates that each party exchange a completed financial affidavit and relevant financial documents within 30 days of the filing of the response or appearance.
• Cook County Circuit Court Rule 13.3.2 outlines the specific documentation required, such as pay stubs and tax returns.

Your Financial Affidavit will contain all of your financial information –  your bank accounts, credit card debt, retirement assets, brokerage accounts, stock options, income, and other debts. You are not allowed to intentionally leave anything off or include assets or debts that do not exist. You have to be as honest and transparent as you can be.

Full and honest disclosure is essential; intentionally omitting or misrepresenting information can have serious legal consequences. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 219 allows the court to impose sanctions on the wrongdoer, including monetary fines, for failure to comply with discovery rules, including those governing financial disclosure.

Discovering Hidden Assets After Divorce

If you suspect that you spouse hid assets from you, but your divorce has already come to a close, your first step (after calling your lawyer) is to pull out your Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA) and carefully review it. Most MSAs include language stating that if undisclosed marital assets are discovered after judgment, those assets will be divided equally. The language might read something like:

In the event there are additional marital assets discovered not otherwise set forth in this agreement, upon disclosure/discovery of an additional marital asset, said marital asset shall be divided between the parties as follows: fifty percent (50%) to Rachel and fifty percent (50%) to Jeffrey using the greater of (a) the value of the asset at the time the property is discovered or (b) value of the asset on the date of entry of a Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage.

In re Marriage of Hyman, 2023 IL App (2d) 220041, ¶ 7.

If your MSA contains a clause like this, then you can take your ex back to Court and seek to enforce this clause. Your MSA is incorporated into your Judgment of Dissolution, which means its terms are binding as any other Court order.

Case Study: In re Marriage of Hyman (2023)

This recent appellate decision from Illinois’ Second District Court provides a detailed example of what happens when hidden assets come to light post-divorce. The parties divorced in 2015 after 13 years of marriage. The parties’ MSA contained the clause quoted above, stating that any undisclosed asset would be subject to division after the fact if it was later discovered.

In this case, the husband received stock options in his own name, which he failed to disclose during the divorce proceedings or include on his Financial Affidavit. Wife filed a Petition after the divorce was settled seeking allocation of an undisclosed marital asset pursuant to the parties Marital Settlement Agreement. The trial court awarded her half of the 500 shares of stock options that the husband received during the marriage, which was worth $246,597. Husband appealed that ruling.

Husband claimed that it was Wife’s fault that she did not do her due diligence to seek out the information about the stock options during the discovery phase of the divorce proceedings The court was not buying that argument, though, stating that it was Husband who had the obligation to disclose his assets, and never did, despite later claiming that he had.

Jeffrey had multiple opportunities and fora in which to fulfill his obligation to notify Rachel of the receipt of the stock options as compensation for his work for Cubed, but he failed in all instances. He cannot now complain that Rachel did not dig deeply enough after he failed to disclose the options when he should have.

In re Marriage of Hyman, 2023 IL App (2d) 220041, ¶ 17.

Moreover, the plain language of the MSA controlled. It did not “place any restrictions on how, when, or why the assets were discovered or why they were not discovered or disclosed previously.” Ultimately, the Court denied Husband’s appeal and upheld the lower Court’s ruling.

Practical Steps You Can Take

If you believe your ex-spouse hid assets during your divorce, here are steps you can take immediately:

• Gather Documentation: Secure tax records, bank statements, investment accounts, and any relevant discovery materials from the divorce.
• Consult a Family Law Attorney: Preferably one with experience in post-decree litigation and asset tracing.
• File a Petition in Court: Assert your rights under the IMDMA and your MSA to request division of the concealed asset.
• Be Prepared for Litigation: Depending on the complexity and the value of the asset, litigation may be prolonged.

Find a Family Law Attorney in Chicago

Discovering a hidden asset after your divorce is frustrating, but not hopeless. There are legal tools available to you, and a skilled Illinois family law attorney can help. Whether it’s stock options, hidden accounts, or undeclared business interests, the law gives you a path forward—and a fair chance to recover what’s rightfully yours. Reach out to O. Long Law, LLC, today to schedule a consultation with an experienced and trusted attorney.