Most divorce proceedings are not the subject of devious behavior. However, sometimes spouses either intentionally or unintentionally fail to disclose various assets to their former spouse and to the court. Whether these assets are intentionally or unintentionally hidden, it is imperative that they be uncovered. Failure to take all marital assets into account when constructing a divorce settlement arrangement can ultimately harm both parties.

How do you go about finding hidden assets? First, you need to know what you're looking for. Various purchases and rewards are considered assets, even if they are not big ticket items. For example, frequent flyer miles might not strike you as an asset per say. However, they have value and thus must be disclosed.

Other resources you might not ordinarily consider to be assets include outstanding time from a time share program, tax refunds, hobby collections of any value and patents, royalties and copyrights. Basically, any resource you have access to that has or reasonably could have outstanding monetary value in the future should be disclosed during divorce proceedings.

Many people have heard of prenuptial agreements but may be less familiar with the idea of postnuptial agreements. Both are used as tools to define the marital assets of each spouse in the event of a divorce. Postnuptial agreements, however, are drafted after a marriage instead of before like a prenuptial agreement. According to a recent survey, postnuptial agreements are becoming more popular.

The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) found that over half of family law attorneys have seen a rise in postnuptial agreements over the past three years. In particular wives seem to be requesting such agreements more frequently, with over a third of lawyers polled noting a rise in women seeking postnuptial agreements. The survey showed, however, that men still seem to be the party more likely to initiate a request for a postnuptial agreement.

"It is interesting to note the increase in wives requesting postnups, because often one of the most common motivators for these agreements is a dramatic change in the financial status of one or both partners during the marriage," explained the president of the AAML. He also explained that postnuptial agreements may help spouses deal with conflicts about assets which may threaten a marriage.

When a couple divorces, puppy love may give way to a fierce dog fight. As more people treat their pets like family members instead of property, the number of pet custody cases has been growing.

A survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) in 2006 found that 25 percent of respondents had seen a substantial rise in pet custody cases since 2001. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, one attorney recently reported his pet custody cases had grown as much as another 15 percent since 2007.

Illinois, and all other states, consider pets to be property which is subject to the division of property in a divorce. Many pet owners, however, treat their dogs, cats, birds and other animals as members of the family. This can lead to emotional disagreements as to who will keep the pets when spouses part ways.

Americans are familiar with wedding expos where future brides can see the latest wedding dress designs, check out new floral arrangements and sample wedding cakes. Recently, however, divorce expos have been attracting a significant amount of attention. At such events expo-goers will find seminars and booths on financial planning, parenting after divorce and an array of other topics.

The Wall Street Journal recently published a piece discussing the phenomenon of divorce expos, highlighting an event that took place in New York last month titled "Start Over Smart: A Modern Divorce Expo." Examples of featured seminars included: "Moving on After Infidelity," "Parenting Through Divorce," and "Into the Fog-Becoming a Single Dad and a Single Dude Again." The event also included booths staffed by attorneys, financial planners and even dating coaches.

The organizers who planned the New York expo based it on an event in Paris, and similar expos have gone on across Europe. They feel it fills a need to provide resources for those going through a divorce. "Even after divorce, people need a network of continued support to help them transition into their new, post-divorce life," one of the organizers explained. The expo serves as a place for people to get legal and financial information, as well as network with those individuals facing similar challenges.

Most people wouldn't imagine that a retailer could tell if you were recently divorced by your shopping habits. However, a recent exposé by the New York Times discussed how Target has an initiative in place to determine when customers are experiencing life cycle events. Such life cycle events include marriage, child birth and yes, divorce.

The aim of the initiative is to tailor advertising to customers at these various stages of life. By focusing on major life events, retailers are more likely to impact brand loyalty and change consumer shopping patterns.

For instance, if a retailer thinks a customer is pregnant they could send ads for specific brands of diapers, baby clothes and toys. If customers act on those ads they may remain loyal to those brands throughout their child's life.