A client sat across from me last year and told me her husband did not have any investments. No brokerage accounts. No stock. Nothing.

“He’s not really a finance person,” she said.

Except he was trading options on Robinhood. Moving money through Venmo. And had a Coinbase account with enough Bitcoin to make a real difference in the property division.

She found out because he left himself logged in on the family computer. That is not the most sophisticated form of discovery, but it works.

There is a generation of people who have significant financial lives that do not show up on a bank statement. Cryptocurrency wallets. Investment accounts on apps. Gig income paid through PayPal. Cash App transfers that might as well be a second checking account.

And there is a subset of divorcing spouses who assume those assets are invisible. They are not. They are just in places that some attorneys do not think to look.

I think to look.

---

Digital Assets Are Marital Property

If cryptocurrency, digital investments, or other digital assets were acquired during the marriage with marital funds or marital earning capacity, they are marital property subject to division in Tennessee. The format does not change the classification.

Bitcoin bought during the marriage is as marital as a savings account funded during the marriage. The only question is finding it, valuing it, and dividing it correctly.

---

How Discovery Finds Digital Assets

Standard discovery in Tennessee divorce cases now routinely includes requests for information about cryptocurrency accounts, digital wallets, investment apps, payment platforms, and online-only financial accounts.

Tax returns are useful. Schedule D shows capital gains transactions. Form 1099 forms come from brokerages and some crypto exchanges. Bank statements show transfers to and from exchanges.

Forensic accountants who specialize in digital assets can trace wallet activity on public blockchains. Most cryptocurrency transactions leave a permanent, public record. The anonymity of crypto is significantly overstated. (I have seen forensic accountants pull transaction histories that the owner thought were private.)

---

Valuation Is Complicated

Cryptocurrency values fluctuate dramatically. The date of valuation matters enormously for division purposes. Courts and parties have to agree on a valuation date, and the difference between different dates can be substantial when markets are volatile.

Tax basis also matters for dividing investment accounts. Who holds the asset and what the embedded gain or loss is affects the real economic value of the division.

Lawyer Bill’s Advice

The financial disclosure requirements in divorce are broad.

If it is worth money and you acquired it during the marriage, it is subject to disclosure.

Digital format is not a hiding place. It is just a more interesting location for discovery.

If you think your spouse has digital assets they have not disclosed, say so. There are tools to find them.

If you have questions, reach out at midsouthdivorce.com/ask-lawyer-bill/.

---

About the Author: William W. Jones IV is a Memphis family law attorney, Rule 31 Listed Family Mediator, and Super Lawyers selectee every consecutive year from 2014 through 2026. Licensed in Tennessee (BPR 022869) and Mississippi (BPR 100707), he practices at The Jones Law Firm, 5100 Poplar Ave, Suite 708, Memphis, TN 38137. Call (901) 761-5353 or visit midsouthdivorce.com.

More on this: Property and Debt, from The Mid-South Divorce Guide, a complimentary guide to divorce in Tennessee and Mississippi.