Imagine receiving all your financial documents during divorce, which includes years’ worth of bank statement. This includes taxes, credit cards, brokerage reports, payroll statements, as well as other financial records.
Now you have the technical details.
It’s possible you’re unable to locate the answers you need.
Matrimonial disputes aren’t always straightforward because the financial records aren’t readily available. The issue lies in determining what documents provide the answers to the most important questions, and when they’re not there.
Start with the question and not the Spreadsheet
A forensic accountant for white collar defense may approach financial discovery differently from someone simply organizing documents.
Let’s say that the dispute is about income that can be used to pay for. A tax return is useful however the owner of a company or a professional with a high level of compensation could receive money in multiple ways. Compensation and bonuses aren’t easy to evaluate in light of your specific circumstances.
If the subject is hidden assets, various records could become relevant. Bank activity, transfers spending patterns, as well as movements between accounts can help develop a more complete financial picture.
It’s not about accumulating every scrap of paper you can imagine. The purpose is to collect the required documents needed for answering certain financial inquiries.
The Discovery Process is altered by the ownership of a company
The matrimonial research process may be improved by an individual company.
Performing business valuation for divorce in New Jersey requires appropriate financial details about the business. An expert in valuation may need previous financial statements and tax records, ownership information and other documents based on the agreement.
Incomplete information could cause problems.
In other words, if you solely focus on revenues and leave out expenses, it’s impossible to get the complete story of the company’s financials. A single year’s performance may not be a good indicator of the company’s usual or extraordinary performance.
SJS Forensics provides assistance to counsel by identifying documents pertinent to the preparation of specific discovery requests, and scrutinizing documents produced for the accuracy and completeness.
Even if the difference in financials isn’t significant, it does not mean that something was hidden.
Divorce can be emotional and a divorce that isn’t well-known could quickly raise suspicion.
The location of a transfer may not be known until the documents are examined. A large withdrawal could have some common cause. A seemingly ordinary set of transactions might be worth a closer look when viewed as a whole.
A forensic analysis that is objective is crucial because accounting should not start from the assumption of misconduct.
The documents should guide the analysis.
Mediation can be more productive with better information
Financial experts are often involved in courtroom testimony however, a useful analysis could start much earlier. The ability to clarify the dispute before mediation can help when the parties are not in agreement over the value of business or income as well as other property issues or financial activities.
SJS Forensics is a forensic accounting firm that combines experience in forensic accounting and an attitude of settlement. They can also participate in mediations for financial issues.
An expert witness accountant who is involved in matrimonial cases must be able, if required, to explain the analysis to mediators, lawyers and judges as well other non-accountants.
The objective is to minimize the uncertainty
A divorce that is complex can include thousands of financial transactions accumulated over many years. The process of achieving financial clarity cannot be accomplished just by putting documents in folders. Documents must be scrutinized to determine what they reveal as well as what remains unanswered and if further information is required.
It’s a practical benefit of forensic financial analyses. The goal isn’t to make divorce more complicated by generating another huge pile of papers. The aim is to decrease the number of financial queries that remain unanswered in a complex divorce.