This is not unusual: a spouse suddenly “doesn’t own anything,” yet somehow pays the taxes, insurance, maintenance, or mortgage on a house that’s titled in Mom’s name. Or money gets funneled into an account “belonging” to a parent. Or business income starts flowing through a relative’s account for no legitimate reason.
When people do this, they rarely call it what it is. You’ll hear phrases like “asset protection,” “tax planning,” “keeping things simple,” or “avoiding liability.” But when a spouse secretly transfers or titles property in someone else’s name to keep it hidden from the other spouse during the marriage—or especially during a pending divorce—it’s not clever. It’s concealment. In many cases, it’s dissipation or a fraudulent transfer. And Utah courts are not afraid to punish and correct it to the extent that they can.
Before discussing how you prove hidden assets in divorce, you first need to understand what counts as marital property under Utah law.
What Is Marital Property Under Utah Law?
With a few specific exceptions, property acquired during the marriage is presumed to be marital. It doesn’t matter whose name is on the title. It doesn’t matter who earned the money used to acquire it. If the property was obtained during the marriage, it normally belongs to the marital estate. There are exceptions; some property is normally separate, including:
- assets acquired before the marriage;
- inheritances;
- certain personal injury settlement funds.
But even separate property can become marital if it’s transferred into the marital estate or used in a way that commingles it with marital assets. If a spouse uses marital earnings to pay taxes, make improvements, pay down debt, or otherwise increase the value of separate property, the marital estate may acquire an interest in that asset. Utah appellate courts have acknowledged this for decades.
So if your spouse bought a property during the marriage but titled it in his mother’s name, Utah courts look past the form and focus on the reality: Who paid for it? Who controlled it? Who benefitted from it? If the answer is “my spouse,” then the property likely isn’t separate but marital, regardless of how the deed was written.
Hiding Assets by Titling Them in a Parent’s Name Is Not “Protection”
Utah courts recognize several forms of financial misconduct that occur when a spouse tries to keep property out of the marital estate:
Dissipation
When a spouse diverts, conceals, or squanders marital assets for a non-marital purpose—especially in anticipation of divorce—that’s dissipation. If your spouse “gave” property to his mother while the marriage was breaking down, that’s textbook dissipation.
“Utah courts consider several factors in determining if dissipation of marital assets has occurred, including:
(1) how the money was spent, including whether funds were used to pay legitimate marital expenses or individual expenses; (2) the parties’ historical practices; (3) the magnitude of any depletion; (4) the timing of the challenged actions in relation to the separation and divorce; and (5) any obstructive efforts that hinder the valuation of the assets.”
Wadsworth v. Wadsworth, 2022 UT App 28, ¶ 69, 507 P.3d 385 (quotation simplified), cert. denied, 525 P.3d 1259 (Utah 2022).
Fraudulent Transfers
Utah’s Uniform Voidable Transactions Act (UVTA), Title 25, Chapter 6, makes it unlawful to transfer assets to an insider (such as a parent) to avoid a legal obligation. A divorcing spouse is treated as a creditor of the marital estate. That means the court can void transfers made to hide property from you.
Nominee or Alter Ego Ownership
In some circumstances a spouse can’t escape property division by holding assets in someone else’s name while still treating those assets as their own. If he pays the expenses, collects the income, controls decisions, or uses the property freely, the court can treat the titled owner (Mom) as merely a nominee. A Utah court can reclassify the property as marital.
How Do You Prove Hidden Assets in a Utah Divorce?
You don’t prove it by guessing or by telling the judge you “know” something is off. You prove it the way every concealed-asset case is proven: documentation. Here are the main tools.
Bank Records
Bank statements reveal everything: transfers to Mom, payments made on her “property,” deposits matching unexplained withdrawals, or patterns of movement that make no legitimate sense. Subpoenas can reach seven years of statements.
Recorded Property Documents
County recorder records show:
- who signed closing documents,
- who paid recording fees,
- who is the contact for tax notices,
- who insures the property.
If your spouse is managing a house he supposedly does not own, the paper trail exposes it.
Tax Returns and Schedules
This is where many concealment schemes fall apart.
Did he depreciate the property?
Report rental income?
Claim losses?
Deduct mortgage interest?
List the property on a loan application?
Every one of those is evidence of ownership or control.
Communications
Emails, texts, and messaging apps frequently contain the smoking gun. They may tell their parents exactly what they’re doing: “Let’s put it in your name so she can’t touch it.”
Third-Party Testimony
The mother herself can be subpoenaed and deposed. If she can’t explain where the money came from, why the property is in her name, or why your spouse pays the bills, the entire structure could collapse quickly.
What Happens Once You Prove It?
The court can:
- classify the property as marital;
- award you a larger share to compensate for misconduct;
- void the transfer under the UVTA;
- impose sanctions for bad faith;
- award attorney fees.
If you discover your spouse parked assets in a parent’s name to keep them out of the marital estate, don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s normal or “savvy.” It’s misconduct. And Utah law gives you the tools to expose it. The truth almost always leaves a paper trail, and once that trail comes to light, the court can restore the fairness your spouse tried to undermine.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277