Rumor has it that Achraf Hakimi has cheated his wife out of $70 million dollars (his net worth), by putting all his assets in his mother’s name. Achraf Hakimi is a professional footballer (soccer) who played for Ligue 1 team Paris Saint-Germain and played for the Morocco national team.
His wife, Hiba Abouk, is a model and an actress whose net worth is $6 million dollars. It is further rumored that the Spanish Court system ruled that Achraf was worth $0.00 and divided his wife’s net worth in half on their three year marriage.
I emphasize “rumored” because though this story has gone viral, there is no confirming decision from the Spanish Court. Also, since the divorce was filed in March 2023 on a multimillion dollar divorce, it is likely that this is Achraf’s position in property settlement, not the final ruling by the Court.
However, this leads me to the discussion of dividing marital property in Ohio divorces. Ohio is an equitable distribution state meaning that the Ohio Courts will designate two piles of property: marital and separate property. Separate property is separated from the division and marital property is divided in an equitable manner. Note: equitable is not the same as equal. If the court deems that an equal division is not equitable, they will divide the marital property in a manner that is not (50/50).
Separate property normally falls under the following categories:
- Property owned prior to marriage;
- Gifts to one spousal;
- Inheritance to one spouse; and
- Civil judgement awards (not including lost wages).
Marital property is everything else.
So…$70 million question, can a spouse hide assets in the name of a third party (family member, children, friend)? If a spouse or the third party has free access to marital property, the Court would include that property in the division of marital property, UNLESS it is proven that the property is separate.