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The Wine Cellar, the Vault, and the Safe: Hidden Luxuries in Divorce Disputes

By Nottage and Ward on June 3, 2025

In many Chicago high-net-worth divorces, the focus tends to fall on the obvious: homes, bank accounts, investments, and businesses. But beneath the surface—tucked in climate-controlled cellars, private safes, and secured vaults—are often hidden luxury assets that carry immense financial and emotional value.

Whether it’s a rare wine collection, a designer watch archive, or an unregistered art acquisition, these collectible assets in divorce can be overlooked or intentionally concealed, leading to serious disputes and potential financial loss.

At Nottage and Ward, LLP, we specialize in helping affluent clients uncover, value, and divide luxury property during divorce.

If you’re concerned about hidden luxury assets in an Illinois divorce, it’s essential to work with an attorney who knows how to track down every dollar, whether it’s in a brokerage account or behind a biometric lock.

Why Hidden Assets Are Common in High-Net-Worth Divorce

When wealth is diversified across tangible and intangible assets, it becomes easier for one party to hide, undervalue, or simply omit property during divorce disclosures. This is particularly true with collectibles that lack centralized registration, like the following:

• Rare wine or spirits collections
• Fine jewelry and loose gemstones
• Luxury watches or designer handbags
• Gold bullion and precious metals
• Private art, coin, or stamp collections
• Memorabilia, including sports or historical items
• Antiques or rare books stored in off-site locations

These items are often kept in private safes, bank vaults, climate-controlled storage units, or even foreign holdings, making asset discovery in divorce a critical process.

Asset Discovery – Finding the Cellar, the Vault, and the Safe

In Illinois, both spouses are legally required to fully disclose their assets during divorce proceedings. However, compliance isn’t always complete or honest. That’s why the process of asset discovery plays a vital role in uncovering hidden or undervalued property.

At Nottage and Ward, LLP, we use a combination of legal tools and investigative techniques to uncover concealed assets:

• Interrogatories and Depositions: Formal questions and sworn testimony to gather information about valuable items and storage locations.
• Subpoenas: Legal orders to obtain bank records, insurance policies, vault rental agreements, and safe deposit access logs.
• Forensic Accounting: Specialists analyze tax returns, credit card statements, and wire transfers to trace purchases of luxury goods or payments to third-party storage facilities.
• Digital Forensics: Emails, text messages, and digital inventory systems can reveal the existence and value of high-ticket items.
• Private Investigators or Appraisers: In some cases, third-party professionals are brought in to verify possession, review storage units, or conduct a visual audit.

Whether it’s a wine collection in a private cellar or a bundle of luxury watches in a hidden vault, these investigations help ensure all marital property is accounted for.

Valuing Collectible and Luxury Assets

Once identified, high-value niche assets must be professionally appraised. Unlike real estate or retirement accounts, collectibles fluctuate in value based on market demand, origin, rarity, and condition. Courts and attorneys rely on specialized appraisers with credentials in particular asset categories.

Common appraisal methods include:

• Fair Market Value (FMV): The price the item would sell for on the open market, often used in court.
• Replacement Value: What it would cost to buy a similar item new—common for insurance but not usually used for division.
• Liquidation Value: What the asset would yield in a quick sale, relevant for low-demand collectibles or urgent settlement scenarios.

For example, a curated wine collection in a divorce must be appraised based on vintage, storage conditions, origin, and current market rates. For example, a rare bottle of Romanée-Conti may be worth tens of thousands, and improper valuation could result in one spouse losing out on significant marital equity.

Dividing Hidden or Unique Assets Under Illinois Law

Illinois follows equitable distribution, meaning assets are divided fairly but not always equally. Once the full marital estate is identified, including any vault inventory with legal significance, the court will weigh various factors to determine a just division, such as:

• Length of the marriage
• Contributions of each spouse (including non-financial)
• Earning potential and future needs
• Non-marital property designations
• Tax implications of property division

Options for division include:

• In-kind division: Each party receives a portion of the collection (e.g., one spouse takes wine, the other takes artwork).
• Offsetting: One party keeps the collection, and the other receives a monetary offset from another asset class (e.g., retirement funds or cash).
• Liquidation: Selling the asset and dividing the proceeds is common when neither party has strong emotional ties or the ability to maintain the item.

At Nottage and Ward, LLP, our attorneys are skilled in negotiating creative settlements for clients with hidden luxury assets in Illinois divorce. Whether it’s ensuring a fair valuation or preventing a spouse from “forgetting” a $200,000 bottle of whisky in a storage facility, we act to preserve your financial interests.

Warning Signs Your Spouse May Be Hiding Luxury Assets

• Sudden interest in collecting wine, coins, or art without explanation
• Unexplained cash withdrawals or secretive spending
• Refusal to share access to safes, vaults, or storage units
• Items “disappearing” from your shared home before divorce filing
• Undisclosed insurance policies for valuables

If you suspect concealment, it’s critical to involve legal counsel early. The longer a spouse has to move or dissipate assets, the harder it becomes to recover them.

Reason to Choose Nottage and Ward, LLP?

At Nottage and Ward, LLP, we have over 35 years of experience representing high-net-worth clients in complex divorce cases. We have a deep understanding of asset discovery and division involving:

• Art, antiques, and memorabilia
• Luxury goods, including jewelry and collectibles
• Retirement accounts and business interests
• Offshore holdings and private vault contents

Our Chicago divorce lawyers work closely with forensic accountants, appraisers, and private investigators to ensure that no asset is left unaccounted for, however rare, obscure, or hidden.

Speak With an Illinois High-Asset Divorce Lawyer Today

Don’t let hidden luxuries go undetected. If you’re entering divorce and suspect that valuable assets are being concealed, or if you simply want to ensure proper valuation and division, we can help.

Call Nottage and Ward, LLP, today at (312) 332-2915 to schedule your consultation.