Identifying Assets

Pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code, each spouse is required to make a full disclosure of all marital and separate property. The complexity of this process depends greatly upon what has been accumulated during the marriage, as well as your involvement in the development and management of these assets.

The intentional failure to disclose all assets can be met harshly by courts. R.C. 3105.171(E)(5) allows a court to penalize a party who does not disclose an asset by awarding the other spouse with an amount up to three times that of the non-disclosed asset.

To begin your divorce, you will need to identify all marital property as well as all separate property. Examples of marital property generally include your residence, bank accounts, retirement accounts, such as 401(k)’s, IRA’s, and pensions, vehicles, businesses, and household furniture. The most common sources of separate assets are inheritances, gifts, or premarital assets.

While spouses are required to disclose all assets and liabilities, this does not mean that every spouse is going to be 100% forthcoming. As soon as you file your complaint for divorce, you are vested with the ability to conduct discovery. Discovery includes requesting documents from your spouse and requiring your spouse to answer questions under oath. Additionally, third parties, like financial institutions, can be subpoenaed and be required to produce documents.

There is no requirement to have a full financial picture of your marriage before filing for divorce. By the time you complete the discovery process, with the help of a WSM Divorce Attorney, both you, and the Court, will know where every dollar is located.