How are crypto assets established in a divorce?

By S.E. (Simcha) Schrijver, blockchain investigator at Paucitas

What Paucitas does

We first take stock of the known wallets and accounts, and then look for holdings that were not declared, by following the transactions outward from the known addresses. A standard determination based on declared addresses is normally completed within five working days. Where a search for undeclared holdings also runs, that becomes ten to fifteen working days, because every branch in the transaction chain has to be worked through separately.

In Dutch divorce proceedings the parties agree a reference date for the division, and the whole determination hangs on that date. We therefore ask for it before anything else.

We first take stock of the known wallets and accounts, and then look for holdings that were not declared, by following the transactions outward from the known addresses. A standard determination based on declared addresses is normally completed within five working days. Where a search for undeclared holdings also runs, that becomes ten to fifteen working days, because every branch in the transaction chain has to be worked through separately.

What you supply

You or your lawyer supply the addresses that are known, the exports from the exchanges, the bank statements of the accounts involved and the reference date the parties are using. Bank statements are often the most productive source, because every payment to or from an exchange is a lead.

Bank statements of the accounts involved are often the most productive source, because every payment to or from an exchange is a lead. Add the reference date the parties are using, and the exports from any exchange that is known.

What you receive

You receive a report with the addresses found, the balances and values on the reference date, the route of any movements and an account of the method. Where a branch in the chain runs dead, for example at an exchange outside Europe, that is stated explicitly.

The report takes no position on the division itself. It records what was found and what it was worth, which is what a Dutch court and both lawyers can work from.

For an international reader the Dutch frame is worth naming. In Dutch divorce proceedings the parties agree a reference date for the division, and the whole determination of crypto assets in a divorce hangs on that date. A report that values the holdings on a different day, however carefully, will not settle the dispute.

Where a branch in the chain runs dead, for example at an exchange outside Europe, that is stated explicitly. The report takes no position on the division itself; it records what was found and what it was worth, which is what a Dutch court and both lawyers can work from.

How to get started

You or your lawyer contacts us with a short description of the situation and the reference date. We will tell you what is realistic within the time available. The contact page is the place to start.

You or your lawyer can approach us, and we are used to working for one party or for both. Give us the reference date and the known addresses and we will tell you what is realistic within the time available.

What weight a court gives to the report is for the court to decide.