What you can do about a hidden asset depends on whether you find it before or after the divorce decree.
Before the Decree
In Gibson v. Gibson, 301 Ga. 622 (2017), the Georgia Supreme Court recalled holding that a spouse who seeks the other’s agreement on a matter related to ending the marriage “must do so with candor,” but has “never said that a person must gain the consent of or even inform his or her spouse before undertaking every financial transaction.” It rejected a wife’s argument that her husband’s undisclosed transfers were fraud as a matter of law.
After filing, the sworn financial affidavit and discovery compel disclosure, as our posts on those subjects explain. A spouse who does not produce evidence “in such party’s power and within such party’s reach” that could repel a claim can face a rebuttable presumption that the claim is well founded, OCGA 24-14-22, as our posts on spoliation and temporary alimony describe.
After the Decree
A decree can be set aside under OCGA 9-11-60(d)(2) for “[f]raud, accident, or mistake or the acts of the adverse party unmixed with the negligence or fault of the movant,” but only within three years, as our post on fraud in divorce settlements explains. In Paul v. Paul, 355 Ga. App. 828 (2020), a wife who alleged her husband had concealed assets moved to set the decree aside three days before the deadline. The trial court dismissed, ruling she needed a new action, but the Court of Appeals reversed: the motion belonged in the divorce case, and under OCGA 9-11-60(e), “[t]he use of a complaint in equity to set aside a judgment is prohibited.” The court did not decide whether anything was hidden, and on remand her renewed motion was denied.
An asset the decree never mentions stays titled as it was; see our post on property a decree does not mention.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!