It can be very important for a person to know what is happening with their finances. This is true for both single individuals and married people.
One thing that could severely impede a married individual’s ability to have an accurate idea of what is happening with their finances is if their spouse is dishonest with them about money matters. One would hope spouses would always be honest with one another about finances. Unfortunately though, incidents sometimes happen in which one spouse commits financial infidelity against the other. This can include things like hiding assets, accounts, debt or spending.
Financial infidelity, in addition to potentially depriving the spouse it is committed against of having the full picture of their financial situation, can be very harmful to a marriage and perhaps be indicative that the marriage may be in danger.
Thus, it can be important for a married individual to be aware of whether or not their spouse is being honest with them when it comes to finances. One thing married individuals might wonder is: what things may indicate that my spouse is being financially dishonest with me? Some things that can be signs of financial infidelity within a marriage are:
- A spouse asking their partner to sign financial documents without looking them over.
- A spouse suddenly opening lots of new accounts.
- A spouse suddenly purchasing lots of art, antiques or other valuable assets that can be difficult to track.
- Excessive shopping by a spouse.
- Significant changes in a spouse’s spending patterns.
- A spouse having unexplained moodiness.
During a marriage is not the only time it can be important for a person to know how financially honest their partner is being with them. This can also be very important when getting divorced, as financial dishonestly during the course of a divorce has the potential to impact matters like alimony and property division. Attorneys can help divorcing individuals investigate whether there are any red flags present indicating that their soon-to-be-ex may be hiding assets or engaging in some other sort of financial wrongdoing in relation to the divorce, and can help individuals understand what their options are in their divorce case if such wrongdoing is uncovered in relation to their soon-to be-ex.
Source: Entrepreneur, “9 Signs of Financial Infidelity,” Andrea Murad, July 27, 2015