Red Flag Quiz

Quiz Questions

• 1.
  How do you and your spouse manage your finances?

  • A.
    Most or all of our money is in accounts that have both of our names on them
  • B.
    Most of our money is separate, but we have an account in both of our names for paying household bills
  • C.
    We keep all of our money separate and we each pay part of the family's bills
  • D.
    All of the money is in my name and my spouse has none
  • E.
    My spouse has all of the money in his/her name and I have none
• 2.
  Which of the following best describes the responsibility over finances in your household?

  • A.
    My spouse and I equally share the responsibility for managing our money
  • B.
    I manage most of the finances for our family
  • C.
    My spouse manages most of the finances for our family
  • D.
    My spouse has complete control over all the money, but this was my choice (I didn’t really want to be involved and I trusted him/her)
  • E.
    My spouse has complete control over all the money by his/her choice and he/she does not allow me to be involved in it
• 3.
  How much money do you and your spouse make relative to each other?

  • A.
    We make about the same amount of money (or one person makes slightly more)
  • B.
    My spouse makes most or all of the money
  • C.
    I make most or all of the money
• 4.
  Which of the following characteristics apply to your spouse? (mark all that apply)

  • A.
    Previously cheated on a spouse or partner
  • B.
    Was dishonest during a previous divorce or end of a relationship (ex. Lied about the money in a divorce and got a bigger share of the assets because of the lie)
  • C.
    Filed tax returns for you without your knowledge or signature
  • D.
    Has cheated family or friends out of money
  • E.
    None of these
• 5.
  Which of the following characteristics apply to your spouse? (mark all that apply)

  • A.
    Has become more secretive about money matters
  • B.
    Has become more secretive about his/her whereabouts
  • C.
    Likes to brag about his/her dishonesty or gaining an unfair advantage over others
  • D.
    Has an addiction problem, including drugs, alcohol, gambling, or pornography/sex
  • E.
    None of these
• 6.
  Have you ever noticed money missing from a bank or investment account?

  • A.
    No
  • B.
    Yes, and my spouse would not explain it
  • C.
    Yes, and my spouse had an explanation
• 7.
  Does/did your spouse ever do any of the following things? (mark all that apply)

  • A.
    Coerce you to sign legal documents without letting you read them
  • B.
    Say “just trust me” when you asked for details of a transaction you were asked to participate in (ex. Selling your house without giving you information about the sale)
  • C.
    Taunt you with the financial power he/she has over you
  • D.
    None of these were a problem
• 8.
  Does/did your spouse ever do any of the following things? (mark all that apply)

  • A.
    Purposely use a post office box or other mailing address that you do not have access to
  • B.
    Hide money from his/her paycheck
  • C.
    Open credit cards, lines of credit, or other loans without your knowledge
  • D.
    None of these were a problem
• 9.
  Which of the following have you discovered in the last year? (mark all that apply)

  • A.
    Missing financial documents (things that you thought were there, and now they're not)
  • B.
    Altered financial documents (your spouse changed things on an important financial document and tried to pass it off as authentic)
  • C.
    Backdated or falsely dated documents
  • D.
    Your spouse forged your signature on an important document
  • E.
    None of these
• 10.
  Which of the following have you discovered in the last year? (mark all that apply)

  • A.
    Your spouse refuses to answer financial questions (but before that was open with information)
  • B.
    Your access to accounts has been removed (ex. Your name was taken off an account, a password to get into an online account was changed.)
  • C.
    Your spouse has been dishonest about his/her job or career (ex. He said he got laid off but I found out he really got fired.)
  • D.
    Bills have been going unpaid, when previously they were always paid on time
  • E.
    None of these
• 11.
  Have you ever accidentally discovered a bank, investment, or credit account in your spouse's name that you never knew about?

  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 12.
  Which of the following have you discovered in the last year? (mark all that apply)

  • A.
    Significant spending you did not know about
  • B.
    Started living outside of your means, whether hidden or open about it (ex. Buying luxury clothes that you cannot afford)
  • C.
    Purchase of expensive assets (cars, collectibles, boats, real estate) you did not know about
  • D.
    Your spouse has been cheating on you (includes emotional or physical affairs)
  • E.
    None of these
• 13.
  Which of the following have you discovered in the last year? (mark all that apply)

  • A.
    Got a promotion, raise, bonus, or other significant compensation that you did not know about
  • B.
    Certain bills or other important items no longer arrive to your house in the mail
  • C.
    Dishonesty about finances (ex. Lied about how much was spent or what it was spent for)
  • D.
    Spending changed drastically for no apparent reason (either spending much more or much less than usual)
  • E.
    None of these
• 14.
  Does your spouse withdraw cash from your bank account?

  • A.
    No, we don't use much cash.
  • B.
    Yes, my spouse goes to an ATM occasionally, but it's not concerning.
  • C.
    Yes, my spouse withdraws money at the ATM or at the bank very often, but I know what the money is for, and I'm not concerned.
  • D.
    Yes, my spouse withdraws money at the ATM or at the bank very often, and I don't know what that money is for.
• 15.
  How do you feel about your family's finances after answering these questions?

  • A.
    I feel pretty good. Some of the questions seemed scary, but I think I have a good handle on our money.
  • B.
    I feel neutral. These questions gave me a lot to think about, but I'm just not sure.
  • C.
    I'm nervous. I don't have any direct evidence yet, but I now have a lot more questions.
  • D.
    I'm more confused and scared than ever. There are a lot of warning signs in our situation!
  • E.
    This confirms it. I knew something was really wrong, and these questions have convinced me even more.

Quiz Outcomes

• 1.
  Low risk of fraud

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  You’ve got a few financial risk factors in your marriage that may have you wondering whether there are more problems than you know about. But the good news is that in our experience, your chances of fraud are pretty low. And you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about your family’s finances, so that is something in your favor.Your focus should be on preparing for the “financial discovery” part of your divorce, which is where both sides exchange financial documents like bank statements and other papers related to income and spending. Use this tool to help you gather and organize your financial documents, because being well-prepared in this area could save some time for your attorney and his or her staff. (And that saves you money!)The parts of this tool that teach you how to evaluate the numbers may still be useful to you. They will give you a better understanding of what assets you own and how money was spent. You will also have more information on which to determine whether you should be worried about the risks you have identified. And when it comes time to talk about the money and the financial settlement in the divorce, you'll be armed with knowledge about the numbers.(EXTRA) Most of your attention should go toward gathering documents for the financial part of your divorce. This tool will help you know what documents to get, how to get them, and how to organize them. Doing a thorough job of gathering and organizing your financial documents will help the financial part of your divorce go more smoothly. And it could save you some money because your attorney and his or her staff will spend less time trying to get your financial documents together.While you probably don’t have a lot to worry about, it would be a good idea to take some time to get your financial documents in order and give them a once-over. We’ll show you some basic financial analysis techniques you can do to determine if there are any other risk factors you don’t already know about. And if you happen to find something that is concerning, you can dig in even deeper to get to the bottom of what happened to your money.
• 2.
  Moderate risk of fraud

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  You have identified several concerning fraud risk factors in your financial situation. You’re probably feeling afraid that there may be much more you don’t know about. There are some red flags of fraud demonstrating that your fears are credible. When signs like this are identified, it is natural to wonder if money has been hidden or spent inappropriately. At the end of the day, just want to get to the bottom of what happened with your money.This tool is going to be helpful in further evaluating the signs you have seen, as well as to look for other potential problems. Your first step will be to gather and organize the documents, and we’re going to walk you through that as simply as possible. Then we are going to show you some ways to dig into the numbers and identify issues. You are in the right place. You’ll be able to feel confident as you gather the documents that will be needed for the financial discovery part of your divorce. And you’ll be able to look for real problems with the numbers to determine if those red flags really mean there is fraud, or not.
• 3.
  High risk of fraud

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  You have seen significant signs of fraud from your spouse. When you see this many red flags, it is highly likely that money has been hidden or spent inappropriately. You didn’t make all of this up in your mind. You saw things that were concerning, and your answers to this quiz show that there have been lots of warning signs. You are right to take this money stuff seriously.This tool is going to be extremely important to help you through the financial part of your divorce. It will guide you through the process of gathering and organizing your documents so that you can be assured of having a complete and manageable set of documents. But more importantly, you’ll learn some easy techniques you can use on the account statements and income tax returns. These procedures will help you determine exactly what has been happening with your family’s money, and will give you greater insight about whether money is missing. This is where you will gather proof of what your spouse has been doing with your money so your attorney can take appropriate action in your divorce. (EXTRA)Fraud investigators say that if you see a couple of red flags, it’s probably no big deal. In your case, there are way too many signs of fraud for you to ignore. You haven’t been imagining things. You have identified many red flags of fraud, and the odds are very high that there are financial shenanigans in your marriage. This tool is going to help you dig into those issues.The first important step is getting all of your bank, credit, card, and investment account statements. After you have obtained all of the account statements and income tax returns, you should spend time going through them line by line. You’re going to look for missing deposits, inappropriate spending, or transfers of money that don’t have any apparent explanation. This sounds like detailed work because it is. But it’s the way to get to the bottom of what happened with your family’s money.Following all of the steps is important for someone in your situation. You may find that you need additional help from a forensic accountant or other financial professional, and that is okay. For now, take a breath. You have good reason to believe that something bad has happened with the money. You’re in good hands here to start getting to the bottom of it.
• 4.
  Extreme risk of fraud

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  You have identified so many fraud risk factors that you have an extreme risk of financial fraud in your marriage. This might be hard to hear, but it probably comes as no surprise to you. You have thought that money was missing, or you were being lied to, or important information was being kept from you. You didn’t make this all up. It’s real.This tool will help you take control of the financial part of your divorce. It will help you get the information you need to make informed decisions. It is going to be very important for you to follow all of the steps in this tool. It starts with getting all of the bank, credit card, and investment account statements that you are aware of. You’ll need to go through them line-by-line with the help of Analyze the Statements step. This may be the most important work you do on your financial stuff.It's possible your spouse engaged in a complex scheme to hide money. In that case, you may need help from a forensic accountant or other financial professional. But this tool will help you start to gather proof that something has gone wrong with the money. This is the right guide to help you start untangling the mess your spouse has made of the money.