Divorce in Florida generally requires that you split your marital property. If you or your soon-to-be ex-spouse purchased or sold virtual currencies while married, the court may require that you divide its value.
As noted by SmartAsset, however, the Sunshine State’s divorce courts may not require couples to divide their separate property. Money received as gifts or an inheritance, for example, is typically a spouse’s separate property. If you purchased virtual currencies with your separate assets, you may list them apart from your marital property.
Separate property can become marital property
In some cases, separate property may commingle with a couple’s marital estate. A family court judge may view gifts of money made between two married individuals as marital property. If you owned a home, for example, and then added your spouse’s name to the deed, the court may see it as an asset that became part of your shared assets.
Money received as an inheritance, for example, and deposited into a joint bank or brokerage account may count as marital property. When spending money from a joint account, the judge may consider the assets purchased with the funds as marital property. If you bought and sold virtual currencies from money in a shared bank account, you may need to divide the value of those currencies.
Hidden virtual currencies may appear during discovery
As reported by CNBC, at least 20 million U.S. residents owned a total of about $2 trillion worth of digital currencies in the second quarter of 2021. If you have reason to believe your marital estate includes virtual currencies, you may ask the court to find it during the discovery process.
Evidence of undisclosed and valuable assets could include an expensive vehicle or changes in an individual’s lifestyle. Requesting access to computers or mobile devices can help you determine whether a spouse has hidden virtual currencies.
