Cash under the mattress has taken on a new form in 2025. Portable, pseudonymous, and often unregulated, crypto assets are the new stipulation in the court room, from high-net-worth divorces to cross-border estate battles to fraud investigations.
Digital assets are becoming a common subject in legal disputes and attorneys are turning to the blockchain for answers. While data may appear readily accessible, interpreting it requires expertise.
The lack of adequate regulations makes it difficult to conceal, undervalue, or obscure digital assets. Parties engaged in such disputes require the resources and expertise to investigate and validate these holdings.
Why Attorneys Can’t Afford to Overlook Crypto
The number of legal cases involving undisclosed or disputed cryptocurrency holdings is rising rapidly. Across practice areas, attorneys are increasingly noting a pattern: clients are using crypto to deliberately obscure wealth, aware that many standard disclosure forms don’t directly address digital wallets and may only require a lookback period of 12 months unless fraud is suspected. This creates a significant gap in visibility, especially in high-net-worth matters where digital assets can quietly hold substantial value.
Digital Assets in Family Law
A study by Investec Wealth & Investment (UK), 1 in 4 individuals admit to hiding assets from their former spouse during divorce proceedings. Concealing wealth or assets is more common than many realize. Investec’s study specifically found that 25% of those divorced in the past decade hid some of their wealth. A separate poll from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) also indicated that 2 in 5 Americans admit to hiding financial accounts or assets from their partners. The modern version of hidden wealth isn’t limited to offshore accounts; digital wallets, cold storage devices, and crypto exchanges are also frequently left out of financial disclosures.