Imagine receiving all of your financial records during divorce, and that includes years of bank statements. These include taxes, credit card statements, brokerage reports, payroll statements, and other business financial documents.
Now you have the technical details.
You might have a few practical options.
It’s not always hard to solve matrimonial issues that are complex because of the absence of financial records. Sometimes the issue is deciphering which documents answer the questions that actually matter and being aware of the crucial elements that are missing.
Begin with the question Don’t start with the Spreadsheet
A forensic accountant for white collar defense may approach financial discovery differently from someone simply organizing documents.
Imagine a situation where the dispute is about money that can be used to help. It’s a good idea to go over the tax return, however professional or business owners who receive high compensation may be able to receive their earnings in various ways. Distributions, bonuses, salary, and other forms of compensation may require further analysis depending on the circumstances.
If there are any assets which may be hidden, it is important to keep track of the assets. Bank activity, transfers, spending patterns, and movements between accounts could help create an accurate financial picture.
The objective isn’t to collect all documents. It’s about obtaining the documents required to answer specific financial questions.
Business Ownership Impacts the Discovery Process
Privately-owned companies can be an excellent supplement to the matrimonial search process.
For New Jersey divorce business valuation it is necessary for the company to have all pertinent financial information. An expert may be required to provide historic financial information, tax data, ownership records and other documentation pertinent to the relationship.
Incomplete information can cause problems.
For example, looking at revenues without considering expenses only tells a small portion of a company’s financial tale. A single year’s performance may not reflect a company’s typical or exceptional performance.
SJS Forensics assists counsel by finding relevant documents, assisting create specific discovery requests and evaluating documents produced to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the documents.
Even if a difference in the financials isn’t significant however, that does not mean that there was a cover-up.
Divorce is emotional, and any unreliable transaction could quickly generate suspicion.
It’s not always clear what the reason for a transfer taken place. A huge withdrawal could be due to an unrelated reason. A seemingly simple set of transactions could be worth further investigation when taken in combination.
A forensic analysis that is objective is crucial because accounting should not begin with the assumption that misconduct occurred.
The documents should guide the analysis.
Better Information Makes Mediation More Productive
Financial experts typically appear in courtrooms, but the type of analysis that is beneficial could begin much earlier. Understanding the issue before mediation is helpful when the parties are not in agreement over the value of business or income as well as other property issues or financial activity.
SJS Forensics can help resolve difficult financial issues by combining accounting expertise from forensic experts with a settlement-focused approach.
A certified expert witness accountant in matrimonial cases should be able, when required, to explain the analysis to lawyers, mediators and judges, as well other non-accountants.
The aim is to eliminate the unknowns
A complicated divorce may contain hundreds of financial transactions that have been accumulated over time. Just putting them in folders isn’t enough to create financial clarity. One must still determine what they are in the first place, what’s not yet answered, and which additional information may be required.
It’s a benefit that can be realized from financial analysis that is forensic. It’s not our intention to complicate divorces by generating a massive pile of papers. The goal is to lessen the number of financial questions that remain unanswered in a complex divorce.