Twenty years ago, a thorough asset search in a divorce meant pulling bank statements, brokerage records, retirement account records, and a title report for the house. Today, a couple's wealth may be scattered across cryptocurrency wallets, online brokerage apps, loyalty and rewards accounts, digital business inventories, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and cloud-stored intellectual property. As both an AAA arbitrator and a divorce mediator, I have watched digital assets go from a rare curiosity to one of the most common and most contested categories of property in modern divorce cases. Here is how mediating parties can locate, value, and secure them without the process collapsing into a forensic scavenger hunt.
Start with a Complete Digital Inventory
Before any division of assets can happen, both spouses need a shared understanding of what exists. I ask each party to prepare independently a digital asset inventory covering:
- Cryptocurrency and digital wallets (hot and cold storage, exchange accounts)
- Online brokerage and robo-advisor accounts (i.e., Betterment)
- Digital business assets: websites, domain names, online stores, digital products
- NFTs and other blockchain-based collectibles
- Cloud-stored intellectual property, including code repositories and creative files
- Airline miles, credit card points, and other loyalty program balances
- Email and cloud storage accounts that might reveal financial activity
Doing this independently and then comparing lists often surfaces the first meaningful gaps. Spouses frequently forget assets that aren’t tied to a physical statement in the mail (or email), and a side-by-side comparison prompts the "oh, right, that too" moments that a single joint conversation rarely produces on its own.
Follow the Paper Trail…Even When There Isn't One
Digital assets don't leave paper trails, but they leave data trails. In mediation, I encourage transparency-based discovery before adversarial discovery: requesting exchange account statements, wallet transaction histories, and email confirmations from account creation. Cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase or Kraken generate downloadable transaction histories that function much like a brokerage statement. Where a spouse suspects undisclosed crypto holdings, a forensic accountant with blockchain experience can trace wallet addresses through public ledgers; as blockchain transactions are permanent and traceable, even when the identity behind a wallet isn't immediately obvious.
Bank and credit card statements still matter here: transfers to exchanges, unfamiliar merchant names, or recurring small debits to cloud services can all point toward accounts that weren't voluntarily disclosed.
Valuation Is Its Own Challenge
Once assets are identified, valuing them is the next hurdle. Cryptocurrency values can swing dramatically day to day, so mediating parties need to agree on a valuation date and methodology up front, whether that is the date of separation, a rolling average, or the date of the mediation session itself. NFTs and digital collectibles are even trickier, often requiring a specialized appraiser given the illiquidity and volatility of that market. I generally recommend parties agree on a neutral valuation expert, rather than hiring a competing one, which keeps the process collaborative rather than adversarial. For an interesting take on this issue, see Culligan v Culligan [2025] (England).
Securing Assets During the Process
Once assets are identified, protecting them from dissipation matters just as much as finding them. In mediation, I recommend:
· Documenting wallet addresses and account access in writing, including who holds private keys, seed phrases, and two-factor authentication devices.
· Freezing or restricting unilateral transfers where possible; some exchanges allow account holds pending legal proceedings.
· Changing shared passwords and revoking joint access to accounts that will ultimately belong to one spouse, once both parties have agreed on disclosure and division.
· Creating a written custody plan for private keys if crypto assets are divided, since a lost seed phrase can mean a permanently lost asset, and courts and mediators can't compel access to funds nobody can locate.
Why Mediation Fits This Problem Well
Digital assets are uniquely suited to mediation rather than litigation, precisely because so much of the difficulty is technical rather than adversarial. A judge unfamiliar with cold wallets or NFT marketplaces may take a blunt approach; a mediator can bring in a neutral forensic expert, set collaborative ground rules for disclosure, and help both parties agree on valuation methodology without the delay and cost of formal discovery battles. The goal isn't to "catch" anyone hiding a wallet; it’s to build a complete, mutually verified picture so that division decisions rest on shared facts.
Divorce mediation works best when both parties trust that nothing material is being concealed. In the digital age, that trust has to be built deliberately, through structured inventories, transparent account access, and agreed-upon valuation processes not assumed.
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Jennifer Lupo participates in the American Arbitration Association’s AI Ambassador Program – Digital Assets & Algorithmic Finance Subcommittee.
N.B. This post is intended for general information purposes and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Parties navigating divorce should consult a qualified mediator, attorney, or financial professional regarding their specific circumstances.