Divorces can be amicable, but they can also come with a huge breakdown in trust. Spouses can be worried that their former partner is hiding something to defeat their financial claims and seek advice on what they can do to ensure a fair outcome. Concerns can include deliberate devaluation of businesses, assets being transferred to third parties or offshore, and simple non-disclosure of bank accounts, luxury goods, or investments. With these issues in play, how can you be sure of a fair settlement?
Firstly, there is an obligation for people to provide full and frank information about their assets and income to obtain a financial order. If you are in court proceedings, you have to sign statements of truth to confirm that you have set out your financial position accurately to the best of your knowledge. Signing a statement of truth whilst knowingly being dishonest can lead to prosecution for contempt of court. This is not always enough to deter people from behaving deceitfully, but it is a start.
There are plenty of ways for experienced solicitors to find hidden assets. These include forensic examinations of bank statements and company accounts, requesting data from His Majesty’s Land Registry on all property owned in your former partner’s name (or associated names), and seeking disclosure from third parties. Depending on the assets in your case, your legal team may work in conjunction with forensic accountants or private investigators.
The court also has one more tool at its disposal – the ability to draw adverse inferences. If there is a lack of disclosure or co-operation from your spouse, the court may infer that they have something to hide. They may award you more of the known assets on the presumption that your former partner has more.
If you suspect that your spouse is in the process of hiding assets, it may be possible to get a court order to prevent this – a freezing order. If you do not know about the transaction in time, you may be able to persuade the court that the value of the asset transferred should be added to your former partner’s side of the balance sheet. This means they are effectively credited with the item they have tried to get rid of/hide. Transactions within three years of divorce proceedings commencing are presumed to be an attempt to defeat a financial remedy claim so may have to be justified if questioned.
Finally, if your proceedings conclude and assets you did not know about surface, you may have a claim for your financial order to be set aside. This is not guaranteed, but it should provide some reassurance that there is recourse. Further, there is a possibility that someone hiding assets could be prosecuted for fraud, so the penalties are substantial.
Suspecting that your former partner is hiding assets and trying to cheat you out of a fair settlement can be extremely distressing. If you think this could be happening to you, or you simply have concerns that something is missing, speak to one of our experts today.
