Is it possible for STBEX to hide assets?

[fraisechaise]

I’m going through divorce atm.
STBEX is not being transparent about finances has always had his own accounts. Only shared account was for paying for car stuff or few bills. He has put some of his accounts on the mediatior form but I am sure he has other account and ISA in his own name that are not on there. I think it could be a lot of money as marriage was 21 years.Will this get picked up if he don’t declare it? If not what can I do?

Solicitors find hidden assets by painstakingly going through bank accounts and following up where money comes from and where it goes to. You need bank accounts going back several years. They can also get a court order for disclosure and can use forensic accountants. I realise you’re in mediation but that’s the reality.

You have to look for whatever paperwork is can find: there’s no easy answer

If your husband doesn’t disclose information and you find out later that he wasn’t honest then you can apply to reopen the financial settlement

As you start to see the full financial picture you can see whether income or expenditure make sense. This coupled with bank accounts will show if he has regular transfers to savings or deposit accounts.

A forensic accountant is expensive. So you really need to think about whether it is worth it. If his personal finances don’t make sense. That is his income regularly exceeds his spending but he has no savings then you can consider using one. But if his bank accounts show regular transfers you can just ask the question yourself. See what answers you get.

if he is suppressing income and hiding assets via a business you may need specialist help.

tldr common sense and basic disclosure will give you insight into whether it is feasible for him to hide money and how much. This should guide you as to next steps and how much you want to spend finding the money.

Very possible, but also very stupid!

Lying on your form E is a criminal offence and you can be jailed for it if it is egregious.

It is also the only reason that a consent order can be revisited at any point in the future.

Having said that, if you suspect it, you need your lawyer to be on top of it. And, if there is a lot of money at stake, they should get a forensic accountant (these are really expensive!)

Thanks for replies

In reality while settlements can be reopened they rarely are and only if its material outcome. Eg if 50k not declared that wouldn’t cause a reopening. If 2m layer found that would.

its easy to get away with a judges rarely punish people . How much do you think is being hidden? Your solicitor will be able to scrutinise and raise questions. But if its not significant amounts you need to weigh up cost and emotional energy trying to chase

Instead of paying for your solicitor to go through the finances to find anomalies you can do it relatively easily.

When you get the statements from his last three years of banking, check that’s the account his salary goes into, then literally go through it line by line and see where the money has gone.

Usually they’re pretty descriptive I.e. Thames Water £80 DD or whatever, but anything you don’t understand/recognise highlight and then check if there’s any patterns.

So, for example if every month £500 gets sent somewhere, but the savings/pensions accounts that he’s sent you details for don’t show a receipt of £500 each month around the same time, then your solicitor can draft a letter listing these anomalies and ask for clarification of what those payments are.

If your solicitor does those checks it’ll cost you £X per hour, but you can do it for free and then just get your solicitor to ask all the pertinent questions.