My spouse hid assets before divorce: what are my options?

Is it legal to hide assets before divorce proceedings are contemplated?

Hiding money from your spouse during the marriage is not a crime in itself but hiding it once financial claims are being negotiated or determined breaches a strict duty owed to the court. Each spouse must give full and frank disclosure of all their finances, including income, property, businesses, trusts, pensions, debts and assets abroad (Livesey v Jenkins [1985] AC 424).

The duty of full and frank disclosure applies to negotiations that lead to a consent order, not just to contested hearings (Sharland v Sharland [2015] UKSC 60). Because the duty is owed to the court, one spouse cannot release the other from it (Gohil v Gohil (No 2) [2015] UKSC 61). Money moved shortly before a claim is made can also be traced and, in many cases, brought back into the picture.

What are the signs that a spouse is hiding money?

The most common signs are unexplained changes in income, spending or paperwork around the time the marriage breaks down. None proves concealment on its own, but together they tell your lawyer where to look.

The court can infer undisclosed resources from a spouse’s spending and lifestyle (Thomas v Thomas [1995] 2 FLR 668), so a careful record of your shared lifestyle is valuable evidence. High spending does not always mean hidden money, though (NG v SG [2011] EWHC 3270 (Fam)).

We often see cases where funds given to one party by a family member years earlier are suddenly repaid or are said to require repayment and declared to have been a loan. Sometimes this is accompanied by the creation of a false paper trail purporting to evidence the loan. The courts are alive to such “soft” loans suddenly being said to be “hard” and will consider all the circumstances surrounding the alleged loan.

What should I do if I think my spouse is hiding assets?

Write down what you know, take legal advice early, and act quickly if you think money is being moved.

1. Record what you know. List accounts, properties, businesses, bonuses, trusts and overseas assets, and note changes in spending or behaviour around money, meetings with lawyers/accountants (particularly in other jurisdictions), etc., with dates.
2. Keep documents you are entitled to. That includes your own and joint account statements, documents about jointly owned property and documents addressed to you.
3. Don’t search your spouse’s devices or papers. Self-help can backfire badly (see the next section).
4. Check your own credit file. Look for joint debts or financial links in your name with the main credit reference agencies.
5. Take advice quickly if money is moving or you suspect that it is about to be moved. Your lawyer can consider an urgent application to stop assets being transferred.
6. Insist on full disclosure before you settle. Ask for a Form E with supporting documents before agreeing any figures, even if you are negotiating outside court.

Can I look through my spouse’s documents or devices?

Reading, copying, or keeping your spouse’s confidential documents, or accessing their phone, email, or laptop without permission, is likely a breach of confidence, even between spouses who live together (Imerman v Tchenguiz [2010] EWCA Civ 908).

Documents that have been taken in this way must normally be returned – with a full account of what has happened -, and you may face an injunction and a costs order. Accessing someone’s devices or accounts can also be a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. If you have already come across documents, tell your solicitor about the existence of the documents before doing anything with them. They must not read them and must return them, with any copies, to your spouse’s lawyers. You can still tell your solicitor what you remember, but you must say where that knowledge came from, and your spouse can ask the court to stop you relying on it.

How can I stop my spouse moving money before divorce?

The court can stop a spouse dealing with assets to defeat your claim, undo transfers already made, and freeze assets where there is a real risk they will disappear.

• Section 37 orders. Once financial proceedings have started, section 37 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 lets the court restrain a transfer about to be made to defeat your claims or set aside one already made. Before proceedings start, you may be able to seek a freezing injunction by undertaking to issue proceedings without delay.
• The three-year presumption. If a transfer was made less than three years before your section 37 application and has the consequence of reducing or defeating your claim then the court presumes it was intended to do so. The burden of proof is on the party who made the transaction.
• Protection for genuine buyers. A transfer cannot be undone if it was made for valuable consideration to someone who acted in good faith and without notice of any intention to defeat your claim.
• Freezing orders. Where there is clear evidence of unjustified dealing with assets and a real risk that more will be dissipated, the court can freeze assets (UL v BK [2013] EWHC 1735 (Fam)), including worldwide assets (FPR 20.2). Suspicion alone is not enough.

Usually, some notice must be given to the other party of the application to court, even if that notice is short and informal. An application can be made without notice to your spouse only in exceptional urgency. Giving no warning at all is justified only where strong evidence shows your spouse would move assets if warned, and such cases are rare. The applicant must give the court full and frank information and usually promises to pay damages for any loss caused if the order turns out to be wrong. It is far easier to stop money moving than to recover it later.

The bar is generally regarded as being very high to make an application for a freezing order and there must clear evidence of an intention to move assets. One party opening an overseas bank account might be considered a red flag that they are intending to move assets out of the jurisdiction.

How does the court find hidden assets?

The court requires both parties to give full and frank mandatory disclosure. If the picture is considered to be unclear then the next steps would include targeted questions, orders against third parties and expert evidence to uncover what a spouse has not declared.

Companies and trusts are not immune from the rules, and all such interests must be disclosed. A company is a separate legal entity that is distinct from the spouse who owns/ controls it. The court must respect the legal identity of the company. However, .in certain (rare) circumstances the court can pierce the corporate veil. More usually it can find that the company’s property is really held for the spouse (Prest v Petrodel Resources Ltd [2013] UKSC 34). Trust assets can count as a resource where the trustees would be likely to provide money if asked (Charman v Charman [2005] EWCA Civ 1606).

Cryptocurrency may be relevant too. Since 2 December 2025, the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 confirms that digital assets can be property and that public blockchain records can be traced. Our guide to cryptocurrency in divorce explains this in detail.

Do I need a forensic accountant in a divorce?

You may need a forensic accountant if the assets are complex, for example, when the money sits in a business, a complex structure or a trail of transactions that only an expert can trace or value. The court must approve the appointment of an expert, and it will only do so when necessary to resolve the case. The court often appoints a single joint expert instructed by both spouses. In simpler cases, targeted questions and bank statements may be enough.

What happens if my spouse lies about their finances?

The court’s approach is that a spouse should not benefit from hiding assets. A judge “must be astute to ensure that a non-discloser should not be able to procure a result from his non-disclosure better than that which would be ordered if the truth were told” (NG v SG [2011] EWHC 3270 (Fam)).

In Mahtani v Mahtani [2025] EWFC 35, the husband gave no financial disclosure and did not take part in the proceedings. The court drew adverse inferences, awarded the wife a lump sum of £13.9 million, kept a worldwide freezing order in place until payment, and ordered him to pay her costs on the indemnity basis. Our article on adverse inferences looks at this area in more detail.

Is hiding assets in a divorce a criminal offence?

The family court usually treats hiding assets as a civil matter, but lying to the court can lead to contempt proceedings and, rarely, a criminal prosecution. Contempt must be proved to the criminal standard and can result in a fine or imprisonment. Deliberately breaching a disclosure order can result in a prison sentence (Young v Young [2013] EWHC 34 (Fam)), and lying on oath in the witness box can amount to perjury.

Using money to control a partner can also be economic abuse, which is a form of domestic abuse under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. If that is part of your situation, tell your solicitor at the outset.

Does hiding money count as conduct in the settlement?

Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 sets out the factors that the court must consider when dividing assets. S25(g) says that conduct may be taken into account, “if that conduct is such that it would in the opinion of the court be inequitable to disregard it.” Usually, financial misconduct will be on an “add back” basis – where one party has wantonly and recklessly dissipated assets which would otherwise have been in the family pot. Alternatively, if the court suspects one party may not have been truthful about their assets, they may draw inferences. Where a party has behaved badly within proceedings this may amount to litigation misconduct that may sound in costs. Our article on litigation misconduct shows how severe the costs consequences can be. The other relevant type of conduct is “gross and obvious” personal conduct.

What if I find hidden assets after the divorce is settled?

A financial order obtained by fraud or material non-disclosure can be set aside, even if you agreed to it. Where non-disclosure was deliberate, the order may be set aside unless the spouse who hid assets satisfies the court that the concealment would not have influenced a reasonable person to agree, and that the court would not have made a significantly different order had it known the truth (Sharland v Sharland [2015] UKSC 60; Gohil v Gohil (No 2) [2015] UKSC 61). If the non-disclosure was innocent, you must show that full disclosure would not have led to a substantially different order in any event.

The procedure is to apply to the court that made the order, under rule 9.9A of the Family Procedure Rules. A bare allegation is not enough, so you will need evidence of what was hidden. Take advice promptly once you discover a problem as time limits may apply.

Will the 2026 reforms change how hidden assets are dealt with?

The Ministry of Justice consultation, ‘A fairer end to relationships’, has sought views on making major reforms to financial remedies on divorce. The proposals involve codifying the existing case law into statute to provide better clarity. The consultation closed on 14 August 2026, and no response has been published yet.

What does the court process look like?

Financial proceedings on divorce follow a set process and is front loaded with disclosure happening early.

1. You must attend a mediation information and assessment meeting before applying, unless an exemption applies. The court will also consider non-court options at every stage.
2. Form A. The application starts the case. The court fee is currently £321.
3. Form E. Both spouses exchange financial statements at least 35 days before the first appointment.
4. First appointment. The court decides which questions must be answered and which documents produced.
5. A financial dispute resolution hearing where a judge helps you negotiate.
6. Final hearing. If you cannot agree, a judge decides, drawing inferences where disclosure is incomplete.