If you are facing divorce with a child in the equation, you may find yourself at odds with your former spouse on nearly every front. While many parents are able to work together to create a fair parenting and child support plan for the future, some parents act out in surprisingly selfish ways and attempt to hide assets or potential sources of income to avoid having them used for child support and alimony calculations. If you believe you may be in such a situation, it may be time to consider enlisting the help of a forensic accountant.
A forensic accountant may not be able to tell you what killed your marriage, but they are very skilled at determining if a spouse is hiding assets that should justly be included in child support and alimony negotiations. Ultimately, it up to the courts to decide what is a fair settlement for you and your spouse, and with the help of a forensic accountant, you can be sure that the court overseeing your divorce settlement is working with all the appropriate information — not only what your spouse wants to admit to earning or stockpiling.
There are many ways a spouse can manipulate the appearances of his or her assets. If your spouse has a close working relationship with his or her other employer, the employer may agree to defer some compensation or otherwise obscure the appearance of your spouse’s income. Similarly, if your spouse owns a business, it is very possible that he or she is using the internal workings of the business itself to shelter his or her personal assets.
These are only some relatively simple examples of shady dealings that a forensic accountant can help you identify as you pursue a fair and just divorce settlement or child support decree. If you are wading through these difficult waters, it is important to not face them alone. With the guidance of an experienced attorney, you can rest assured that your rights will remain protected as you seek to negotiate a fair settlement and embark on a new chapter of life.