Self Employeed Spouse

North Carolina Divorce Law Divorce and Separation Answers
1

In my short 3 years marraige I learned early on that my spouse, who is self employeed, has not filed any tax returns for 3 years before our marriage. He has also not filed any since we have been together (3 1/2 years). Since my disability I have had no regular income so I am not required to file taxes. He has a really good income doing auto paint & body & auto mechanics. He destroys/hides all receipts of money earned. He doesnt deposit money into the business account unless it is from a job completed through insurance company & received reimbursement. 90% of the work is cash. He intentionally leaves no “paper trail”. He is from another country. When we first married I know he was sending money overseas for investment property, using Western Union. If he has done the same for the last 1 1/2 years I am not sure. I am financially dependent on his income. Now that we are separated he refuses to pay any of the household debts, stating that he has no income, & even if he does I am unable to prove it for post separation and/or spousal support. I am speaking specifcally of the home rental payments & utilities. The lease on the home is in my name only, but was used for 1 1/2 years as the “marital home”. During our marriage he paid all debts for the household from the same “missing income”. We were 2 days from opening a joint business along the same lines of the work he was doing when we married, when we separated. The day we were to obtain the business license I ask him to inform me at what time to meet him downtown to sign the business license that was to have both names on it. That was when he went nuts, stating that I was joint owner in the building only, not in the business. I was flabergasted since I am the one who purchased the building & spent over $90,000.00 renovating it for “OUR” family business. He was the laborer & I handle the financials of the business. Everything that we were in agreement together about the business went out the window when it came to get the license & open the doors. For the next 2 weeks he slept on the other end of the house. Then came in from work one evening, retrieved his personal toiletries & stated " I will be back in a few days to get the rest of my things & return your truck", then walked out the door. During the collaboration talks between us during the renovation project,spouse made me aware his intent, once the doors opened, was to only report enough income from the business to take care of household expenses & a little extra on our taxes. Everything else he intended to “hide” away.
My questions:

  1. Can western union transfer information be subpeonaed (sorry about spelling), to prove he has income?
  2. How else can I prove he has this income if he leaves no paper trail? Can his ability to pay the household expenses for the last 3 years be used?
  3. Did I just get “taken” for every penny I had when i entered this marriage?
  4. New business financial intent - Isn’t that embezzlement? even if its our own business?
2

Yes, you can subpoena records of the money transfers. Records of expenses being paid can also be used to show that he was getting money from his business.

I don’t see where you have “been taken”, but you will need to prove what property you had before the marriage and during the marriage for purposes of property distribution.

I do not understand you last question.

3

[quote=“Erin Clarey”]Yes, you can subpoena records of the money transfers. Records of expenses being paid can also be used to show that he was getting money from his business.

I don’t see where you have “been taken”, but you will need to prove what property you had before the marriage and during the marriage for purposes of property distribution.

I do not understand you last question.[/quote]

During the collaboration talks between us during the renovation project,spouse made me aware his intent, once the doors opened, was to only report enough income from the business to take care of household expenses & a little extra on our taxes. Everything else he intended to “hide” away.
This section of my post is what I am referring to. Isn’t him doing this considered embezzlement?

4

No.

5

Trust me when I say this. Get a highly qualified atty in your area. My ex is a business owner also and it has been 3 yrs since I left, 2 yrs since divorce, and we have not made any progress whatsoever. He is remarried, borrowed against OUR company to build a home and many things were done wrong or incorrectly. Make sure someone freezes his assets if they can. Otherwise, he can take everything. It is easy to hide cash and far more difficult to prove this. Good luck!