During the divorce process, each spouse must disclose the assets they are holding to the other. These disclosures cover all types of assets, whether they are physical or digital. Marital assets include property or assets earned or acquired during the marriage by either party.
If cryptocurrency was acquired during the marriage, it would typically be viewed as joint marital property. Under New Jersey law, this property would be subject to equitable distribution between the spouses. The challenge is that you may not know how much cryptocurrency there is because one spouse may hold it privately without telling the other. You may not even know that there were cryptocurrency holdings at all. Many spouses find out that the other spouse, who earns a lot of money, claims to hold no assets. In many cases, a spouse is shocked to learn that the other spouse has a large part of the marital assets in cryptocurrency.
It May be Hard to Locate Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency has no ownership certificates. You need a private key to access cryptocurrency. Owners can keep their private keys well hidden from anyone else. If a spouse does not know that the other one owns cryptocurrency, knowing where they have the assets may be challenging. Even if the spouse believes the other has crypto assets, they may still be hard to find.
Finding Cryptocurrency Depends on Evidence
Locating where a spouse may be holding and hiding their cryptocurrency is tough. There are numerous cryptocurrency exchanges. You may need a starting point in your investigation that shows where the spouse may be holding cryptocurrency.
You would need to find evidence that the spouse has accessed an exchange. Searching for cryptocurrency often starts with the computer history and the apps loaded onto their phone. You are primarily searching for evidence of cryptocurrency usage. Then, if you can locate the usage and the exchange where the accounts are held, you can request more information from that exchange.
There may also be challenges in determining income when one spouse trades cryptocurrency. You would need records of the individual trades to determine how much money the spouse may have made. The good news is that most cryptocurrencies are listed on exchanges, which makes them easier to value.
A spouse who is found hiding assets in the divorce may face significant consequences. Hiding assets could result in sanctions or a higher percentage of the assets being distributed to the other spouse.
Contact Our Hunterdon County Divorce Lawyers at Tune Law Group, LLC for Help With Your Divorce Matter
Our Hunterdon County divorce lawyers at Tune Law Group, LLC, can represent you and work to secure the best possible outcome. Our team is familiar with legal matters related to cryptocurrency in divorce. To schedule a free consultation, call us today at 908-434-1061 or complete our online form. Located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, we serve clients in and around Hunterdon County, Monmouth County, Whitehouse, and Tewksbury.