Forensic Accountants & High Asset Divorce

High asset divorce involves the division of a significant number of marital properties, from multiple houses or a diverse investment portfolio to even businesses and professional practices. This type of divorce is generally complex because the couple must properly determine each assets’ value and divide them accordingly.

However, it is not uncommon for a spouse to attempt to gain an unfair financial advantage or even hide assets in a high asset divorce. That is why a forensic accountant should be part of your legal team to obtain a fair outcome.

Forensic accountants are financial experts that utilize their accounting skills in a divorce case to assist family law attorneys with determining a couple’s income and assets, as well as how to divide marital property. Additionally, they may also analyze documents to help the court determine alimony or child support payments.

The following are several reasons why you should hire a forensic accountant for your high net worth divorce: 

• Values assets – A forensic accountant has the expertise and qualifications to value businesses and professional practices, determine community and separate assets (even by tracing the source of commingled property), calculate gross income, and even provide input on the tax implications of property division.

• Helps your lawyer in the discovery process – Discovery is a legal process that involves gathering financial statements and related records. Together with your attorney, the accountant can help file motions and subpoenas to ensure all the proper documents and information are collected.

• Finds any hidden assets and inconsistencies – Since there is a chance a spouse may be hiding assets from the other, the accountant verifies the accuracy of all financial records and even goes so far as to search for hidden property and even off-shore accounts.

• Provides transparency – The dynamic in many marriages is that one spouse handles all the finances, which is why the one spouse who is not completely familiar with the marital affairs can be vulnerable to misconduct from the other spouse. The accountant can help the disadvantaged spouse gain even ground in terms of understanding the true value of marital assets.

If you are interested in filing for a divorce in Sacramento, Roseville, or Aliso Viejo, contact Cianci Law, PC today at (916) 797-1575 to learn how we can help you.