Question: I am thinking about leaving my wife. During our 22-year marriage, we have acquired a home, furnishings, bank accounts, a withering stock account, automobiles, IRA's, my pension, and debt. I have read a couple of books and understand that even though she did not work outside the home and raised our son, she will receive a percentage of "marital property." When does "marital property" stop and "separate property" begin? What happens to what I acquire after I move out? Should I put these funds in a separate account? Should I move current assets into separate accounts?

Answer: What is, or is not, marital property -- and, for that matter, all issues regarding property -- are matters decided under the law of your state of residence. This means that there may be different answers depending on where you live. In some states, the final separation of a husband and wife is the dividing line. In others, the date on which one spouse files a matrimonial action stops the clock from ticking on marital property. In many states, assets that increase or decrease in value on their own, such as stock accounts, are valued at the time of division rather than at the time of filing.

In any event, the court is the final arbiter of what is, and is not, marital property -- the date on which it's valued, how much it's worth, and how it should be divided. If you leave and begin putting assets in separate accounts, the judge who hears your case may take a dim view of your actions. So put down the books where “experts” tell you how to hide assets and seek answers from a qualified matrimonial lawyer where you live before you take any action.

Question: Being somewhat of a computer nut, I have kept all of our family financial records on our home computer since we married seven years ago. To avoid unmanageable clutter, I always scan important documents into the computer and then destroy the paper every year or two. My wife receives benefits from several family trusts and has inherited some money over the years, so good record keeping is important. My wife has never participated in the family record keeping, and I keep a secret password on the computer so no one but me can enter it.

Because we have had marital problems for the past year or so, each of us sought legal advice. I took my lawyer summaries of the records I kept, but did not give my wife a copy. My lawyer told me that since my wife's separate funds were the source of the majority of the assets we had acquired during our marriage, my share of the property division would probably be minimal. He told me that if the records were not available on the computer, it would be difficult and expensive for my wife to reconstruct various transactions, and that this would benefit my negotiating position. He suggested that I make backups of the records that only I would keep, delete all of the records, and tell my wife that the computer had crashed.

I was not only surprised at what I heard, but I was concerned about what would happen if my wife had gotten into the computer without my knowledge before I deleted the records and then lied about their existence. What should I do?

Answer: First of all, secret passwords on a computer can be bypassed by computer experts whom your wife could hire. Second, if you delete all of the records, there are computer experts who can examine the hard drive of a computer and find the files. Third, and most importantly, your lawyer should not counsel or assist you regarding what is called “spoilation” of evidence which, in effect, is fraudulent conduct at the least and possibly criminal. Using false evidence has no place in the court system.

Here, in our view, your lawyer's advice amounts to him helping you engage in conduct that involves dishonesty, fraud, and deceit. By suggesting that you destroy evidence and then lie under oath, your lawyer is placing you in the position of being indicted for perjury. Telling a client to destroy evidence is a breach of a lawyer's professional responsibility. We suggest that you disregard his advice, get another lawyer, and call your state bar association.