Can anyone help me advise my mum?

[PurpleO]

My mum is going through a divorce. She filled an affidavit of means a number of years ago. About 4. At the time she didn't declare her savings account.

She has to complete another affidavit of means to update it. She wants to declare her savings account now. But she still wants to hide her savings from her ex husband. She said she wants to take out the money and have the account empty. I told her that, that's not going to work because they will want to see a statent and it will show up. She's not really understanding that part. On one hand she wants to do what's right and declare it and then on the other hand she doesn't want her ex husband to know about the savings. They are a long time separated and they never sorted anything legal between themselves and her savings were built up not during their marriage but we'll after the separation. I can't see why it should be factored into the divorce and considered and asset for divorce and something to be possibly shared with her ex, who is an alcoholic and can't sort anything himself. If he got a piece of anything from my mum, he would only drink it away in the pub.

So what do you think I can advise my mum.

I don't know if there will be any issues now. She didn't declare it before and now she wants to declare it. There's no way of her ex husband knowing she has the savings too.

They will want to see 12 months worth of statements, so if she’s going to take it out in smaller normal lumps and leave it somewhere safe with someone she trusts, she needs to do it and then wait 12 months.

I think she needs to get proper legal advice on the repercussions of not mentioning it, the likelihood of any checks being done and whether there’s any way she can protect it. If she discloses that she has a savings account, surely someone will question why it was opened if it was only going to be left empty and, if it had ever been used, where that money had gone?

That makes a lot of sense. I told her that she can't declare it and take the money out because that will be seen from a statement. She's not really thinking straight.

They were a long time separated and her ex wouldn't know she has a savings account. She was willing to not disclose it a few years ago when she didn't declare it then but now she wants to declare it because she doesn't want to lie and swear in court.