Those of us who work in the family law area know that most marriages that end in divorce are in trouble long before the divorce petition is filed. This fact provides ample opportunity for either spouse to hide assets and income. The more animosity there is between the couple, the greater the chance that one or both is hiding income and assets.

Therefore, here are four primary situations that occur that warrant engaging a forensic accountant as part of the divorce team.

When a Closely Held Business is Involved [...]

In a nutshell, a collaborative divorce is a method of practicing law in which the attorneys for both parties abandon their adversarial strategy in favor of an approach designed to achieve a negotiated outcome that both parties can live with. Everybody agrees to not commence litigation during the pendency of the proceedings and the attorneys as well as any experts brought into the process are precluded from participating in any litigation that may arise if the collaborative process fails. [...]

1. Sign up anything that comes in the door

2. Pick and choose carefully using experience and common sense. [...]

It’s not unusual in my practice to get two or three calls a week from one of the combatants in a divorce case asking if we can find the money and other assets that the #%$, SOB has hidden.

Often this call comes far too late in the divorce process for us to help, but that is a discussion for another day. [...]