Ex-wife Hid Microsoft Shares In Joint Account During Divorce, Claims They’re Hers

**Posting this on behalf of a friend who is computer challenged**

Location: Orange County, California

My ex-wife and I divorced in May 2005 and went through normal divorce stuff where we disclosed all assets and split accordingly. A few years after the divorce she sent me some cryptic texts asking to sign documents to release my half of a joint account because she claimed the account was inheritance money from her grandmother. This account was not disclosed by either of us during the divorce because I honestly forgot about it, and *apparently* she did too, more on that later. I asked to see the supporting documents before signing anything. No reply. She did that a few more times over the years but never gave any real information. I was able to dig up an account number and trace it back to an ETrade account. I contacted the company but they don’t keep records past 10 years so I let it go.

Fast forward to current date, received a letter from the Ex and her “lawyer” stating she is entitled to the joint account and is asking for me to sign it over to her. I responded asking to view the documentation and account info so I could look into it. Nothing. I did more digging around and this is what I found out:

-Joint account opened in 2000

-Purchased 100 shares of Microsoft in 2000

-Divorced May 2005

-Stock certificates issued July 2005

Funny how 2 months after we divorced she suddenly remembered there was a joint account containing assets. My guess is she realized she couldn’t cash in the stocks without me signing off on it which is why she’s made a few attempts to get me to blindly sign documents over the years. At this point I’d like to settle the account and whatever is in there and just be done with it. I’m pretty sure Microsoft split at least once along the way, plus dividends etc.

Is there anything I can do to bring a case forward without having access to the joint account or physical proof of the assets? What would I need in order for a judge to look at the case?

Any advice what I’m able to do in this situation would be much appreciated.