Imagine getting all of your financial records during the divorce process, including years’ worth of bank statement. This includes tax returns, credit card statements and brokerage reports, as well as payroll statements, as well as other financial documents.
Technically, you have now data.
You may have few practical solutions.
Financial records might not always be readily available, but that doesn’t mean it makes matrimonial matters more complicated. Sometimes the challenge is determining what documents will answer the questions which are relevant and recognizing when important pieces are still missing.
Start with the question Don’t start with the Spreadsheet
A forensic accountant for white collar defense may approach financial discovery differently from someone simply organizing documents.
Imagine that the dispute is involving the income that is available to provide support. The review of tax returns can be helpful, but the business owner or highly compensated professional may receive money through several channels. Compensation and bonuses can be complicated to analyze depending on your circumstances.
If there are any assets that are concealed, it is essential to track these assets. Banking activity, transfers and spending patterns can be utilized to create an entire financial picture.
It’s not about gathering every scrap of paper you can think of. The goal is to collect all the documents required for answering certain financial inquiries.
Understanding the Ownership of a Business is Innovative Process
Privately-owned companies can be a beneficial option to add to the matrimonial searching process.
The process of valuing a business for divorce in New Jersey requires appropriate financial details about the business. An expert in valuation may need previous financial statements and tax records, ownership information and other documentation based on the contract.
Incomplete information can cause problems.
If you focus solely on the company’s revenue without taking into consideration expenses, then this is just a part of the overall financial picture. A single period of time may not be able to tell whether the performance is typical or extraordinary.
SJS Forensics helps counsel by finding relevant documents, preparing specific discovery requests, as well as analyzing the material produced to ensure the accuracy of the documents.
A few financial differences don’t necessarily mean that there is something hidden
The divorce process is an emotional process, and an event that is not understood can lead to suspicions.
Transfers between accounts can be a bit confusing until records reveal its destination. Large withdrawals that are unexpectedly large could be the result of a typical explanation. However, a seemingly routine set of transactions may be worth further investigation when viewed in conjunction.
It is essential to conduct an objective analysis because forensic accounting should not start from the assumption that misconduct took place.
The analysis should start with the records.
More Information can make Mediation More Effective
Financial experts often appear in courtrooms, but the kind of analysis that can be useful could begin much earlier. Making clear the issues at issue prior to mediation can be helpful if the parties are not in agreement over the value of business or income distinct property, or other unusual financial practices.
SJS Forensics combines forensic accounting expertise with a settlement-minded approach and can be a mediator to address complex financial queries.
An expert witness accountant who is involved in matrimonial court should be able, when needed, to present the analysis to lawyers, mediators and judges as well other non-accountants.
The objective is to minimize the amount of uncertainty
A complicated divorce can contain thousands of financial transactions over a long period of time. Just putting them in folders won’t provide financial clarity. One must still determine the purpose of the documents in the first place, what’s not yet answered, and what additional information could be required.
That’s the practical value of the forensic financial analysis. It’s not a goal to make divorce more complicated by putting more paperwork. It’s best to gradually reduce the amount of questions that remain unanswered in a financial situation that is complicated.