Financial Infidelity on Joint Tax Return Warns of Impending Divorce
How an unsuspecting wife was warned of an impending divorce by figures on their joint income tax return.
This account from my infidelity case files tells how an unsuspecting wife found evidence of financial infidelity on their joint income tax return which proved to be a warning sign of an impending divorce. (Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved)
Financial infidelity is often a sign of sexual infidelity.
When a husband is cheating on his wife, he usually has to hide the fact that he’s spending money on his mistress, so he resorts to financial deception — often referred to as financial infidelity.
Many times this financial infidelity is exposed during the tax season when couples file their joint income tax returns.
Financial Deception Exposed
While reviewing their joint tax return and other, schedules, forms, and supporting documents, Dorothy noticed that penalties had been incurred for early withdrawal from one of their CD accounts.
This disturbed her because her husband, Craig had never said anything about this to her. Although she wondered what Craig had used the money for, she was reluctant to ask.
More Missing Funds
The more Dorothy thought about it, the more concerned she became. So she decided to check the balance on a couple of their other accounts.
She was alarmed to find that a significant amount of money was missing, yet Craig had never mentioned anything about needing to withdraw funds.
It occurred to Dorothy that it might have been related to Craig’s business. Rather than question him about something he obviously didn’t want to discuss, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Dorothy’s Big Mistake
Not asking Craig about the missing money turned out to be a big mistake.
Six months later Craig served Dorothy with divorce papers and moved in with another woman.
Dorothy was totally shocked by this unexpected turn of events.
Because she failed to heed the warning signs, she was also legally and financially unprepared.
A Common Warning Sign of Impending Divorce
When researching my first infidelity book several years ago, I found that what Craig did to Dorothy is common behavior among cheating husbands laying the groundwork for a surprise divorce.
They start liquidating assets and/ or withdrawing money from joint bank accounts behind their unsuspecting spouse’s back.
Financial infidelity of this type will usually show up on a couple’s joint income tax returns if the wife bothers to take the time to look.
What Dorothy Should Have Done
As soon as she found out there was money missing from multiple accounts, Dorothy should have heeded the warning signs.
Even if Dorothy didn’t want to ask Craig about the missing funds, she should have sought financial and legal advice right away.
Instead of taking immediate action to protect herself legally and financially from a possible impending divorce, Dorothy allowed herself to be caught off guard.
In the six months between the time Dorothy discovered the missing money and the time Craig surprised her with divorce papers, she had ample time to put protective measures in place.
Dorothy’s mistake was not acting immediately on what she found.
During the tax season, I’ll be posting more tax-related financial infidelity articles including:
✅ More real-life accounts of tax-related financial infidelity from my case files
✅Cheating husbands and financial infidelity
✅Cheating wives and financial infidelity
✅Kinds of financial infidelity that can show up on joint tax returns
✅ Where to look on your joint tax return and associated documents for signs of financial infidelity
✅ Other signs of financial infidelity.
✅ Ways to avoid financial infidelity
✅ Financial infidelity and divorce
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