Forensic Accounting and Complex Asset Discovery

 Posted on April 15, 2019 in Islamic Divorce

Whether you are in the early stages of considering divorce or already have filed, it may be time to consider working with a forensic accountant who can assist with asset division. Financial issues often are among the most contentious ones in any DuPage County divorce case, and financial matters can be especially complicated and controversial in high net worth divorces where there are complex assets that will need to be identified, classified, and potentially distributed between the spouses. In some of the most difficult cases, one of the spouses is the primary breadwinner and goes to great lengths to hide marital assets in order to prevent them from being divided in the divorce.

No matter what your financial situation, a forensic accountant may be able to work with your DuPage County divorce lawyer to help with your case.

What Does a Forensic Accountant Do?

If you have never worked with a forensic accountant before and do not usually handle complex financial matters, thinking about hiring a forensic accountant can feel puzzling. You might be asking yourself: what does a forensic accountant do, and do I really need to hire one? According to a publication from the American Bar Association (ABA), more people should work with forensic accountants in their divorces given the benefits.

In short, a forensic accountant can assist with all financial components of a divorce, including the marital assets, marital debts, income of both spouses, and expenses of both spouses involved in the legal process. A forensic accountant can analyze financial documents and can serve in an investigatory capacity if there are concerns about the other spouse hiding assets. Since a forensic accountant does not serve in an advocacy role—as a divorce attorney does—the forensic accountant can offer objective information about the financial matters at stake in the divorce. Even though the forensic accountant will be hired by one of the parties and will develop a working relationship with your divorce lawyer, the forensic accountant is an “independent expert” who can provide compelling analysis of financial issues.

Examples of the Types of Situations in Which a Forensic Accountant Can Be Helpful

There are many situations in which a forensic accountant can be beneficial in a divorce case. The following are two hypothetical examples of cases in which a forensic accountant’s expertise can provide a benefit:

You were the non-breadwinner spouse during your marriage, and as a result, your spouse handled all financial matters. Even though you are not concerned about your spouse hiding assets, you do not have a complete and accurate list of your marital assets and debts, and you do not have specific information about your spouse’s income. A forensic accountant can obtain all of this information and help the court to properly classify marital assets and debts.

Whether or not your spouse was the primary earner in the marriage, you are concerned that your spouse is hiding assets. You believe your spouse may have transferred some marital assets to a business partner and has hidden other assets in different ways. A forensic accountant can obtain information about the marital assets, the other spouse’s income, and business holdings, and can track down proof that the other spouse has hidden or unlawfully transferred assets.

Contact an Oakbrook Terrace Divorce Attorney

When your divorce involves hiding assets, the urgent need to find assets held in other people’s names, and other complex asset discovery issues, it may be time to consider how a forensic accountant can assist with your case.

In many divorces involving members of the Muslim community in DuPage County, our experienced Oakbrook Terrace divorce lawyers work with forensic accountants to ensure that marital assets are located and properly classified so that the non-breadwinner spouse is able to receive an equitable distribution of marital property. Contact Farooqi & Husain Law Office online or by phone at 630-909-9114 for more information.

Source:

http://apps.americanbar.org/abastore/products/books/abstracts/5130183%20chap%201_abs.pdf