Half of everything. Finding hidden assets in a Washington divorce.

Q: Where does a spouse hide money?

In a new LLC, a loan to a relative to be forgiven after the decree, a business with a sudden cash-flow problem and deferred bonuses, crypto bought with a debit card, a boat titled to a friend, overpaid taxes refunded next spring, a recently opened brokerage account, or a deposit box at an unfamiliar bank. Washington is a community property state (RCW 26.16.030) and the court divides all property justly and equitably (RCW 26.09.080).

Q: What about the bank accounts and the tax returns?

Those come only through the case: discovery, subpoenas to institutions and depositions under oath. An investigator supplies the list of which bank, brokerage, exchange and entity to name, drawn from the public record, and the lifestyle leads that outrun the financial declaration. Pretexting, phone hacking or logging into a spouse's account will cost the case and possibly more.

Q: When should I bring in an investigator?

Early, through your lawyer so the work is privileged. Ideally before financial declarations are exchanged, so disclosures can be checked against the record; otherwise when the declaration does not match the life you lived. A business to value, property in another state, or a spouse with a trusted bookkeeper are signals that interviews and forensic accounting should start before the decree.

Divorce

The money moves before the petition is filed.

Washington is a community property state. What was earned during the marriage belongs to both of you, whatever name is on the account, and the court divides all of it on a just and equitable basis. A spouse who knows that has usually been quietly rearranging things for a year. The rearranging leaves marks.

Where does a spouse hide money?

In a new LLC that owns nothing yet and will own a great deal later. In a loan to a sibling that will be forgiven after the decree. In a business that suddenly has a cash-flow problem, deferred bonuses, and a line of credit drawn down into an account you have never seen. In crypto bought with a debit card. In a boat titled to a friend. In overpaid taxes that come back as a refund next spring. And in the ordinary places: a brokerage account opened in the last eighteen months, and a deposit box at a bank you do not use. Almost none of this is clever. It is hidden only from a spouse who is not looking.

What does the public record show without a subpoena?

More than most lawyers ask for. The county recorder's name search shows every deed and deed of trust: a refinance you never signed, a property bought with a new partner, a lien that reveals a lender you did not know about; for a county or state you don't live in, the NETR Public Records Online Directory finds the right recorder. The Secretary of State shows every entity your spouse governs and when it was formed; a company registered two months before the separation is a question. UCC filings at the Department of Licensing name the lenders and the collateral, and a loan secured against the business tells you money moved. Documented vessels and aircraft are public registries. Court dockets show the lawsuit your spouse settled for a sum that never reached the joint account. None of this requires discovery. All of it tells your lawyer what to ask for in discovery.

What about the bank accounts and the tax returns?

Those come through the case, and only through the case. Your lawyer serves discovery, subpoenas the institutions, and takes a deposition under oath; a spouse who lies there has committed perjury, which changes the conversation. What we add is the list. Discovery works when you know which bank, which brokerage, which exchange and which entity to name, and the public record is how you learn the names. A lifestyle that outruns the income on the financial declaration is the other lead: the car, the travel, the second phone, each of which has a paper trail of its own. Pretext, hacking a phone, or logging into an account you are not on will cost you the case and possibly more. We do not do it and will not work with anyone who does.

When should I bring in an investigator?

Early, and through your lawyer, so the work is privileged and shaped for the court. The best moment is before the financial declarations are exchanged, so that what your spouse discloses can be checked against what the record already showed. The second-best moment is when the declaration arrives and does not match the life you lived. A business worth valuing, property in another state, or a spouse with a trusted bookkeeper are the three signals that the public record alone will not be enough, and that the interviews and the forensic accounting should start now rather than after the decree.

Memberships and certifications

Does the financial declaration match the life you lived?

Ask your lawyer to bring us in, so the work is privileged and shaped for the court. We will run the public record against the declaration, tell you where the two disagree, and give your lawyer the names to put in discovery. Fixed fee for the first pass; a quote before anything further.

Contact Integra Intelligence