Imagine getting all of your financial records during a divorce, including years’ worth of bank statements. This includes taxes, credit cards or brokerage reports, payment statements, as well as other financial documents.
You now have the information.
You may have few practical options.
It’s not always that difficult to solve matrimonial issues that are complex because financial records are missing. Sometimes the challenge is determining which documents answer the questions that are important and knowing when crucial pieces are missing.
Start with the question and not the Spreadsheet
Financial discovery can be handled differently by a forensic accountant in New Jersey than someone who simply needs to organize documents.
When the issue is about money available for assistance. It’s beneficial to examine an income tax report, however professional or business owners who are highly compensated may receive their compensation in different ways. Compensation, bonuses, salaries and other forms of compensation can require additional analysis based on the specific circumstances.
If there’s an issue about assets that may not be disclosed, other records may be relevant. Bank activity, transfers, spending patterns, as well as movements between accounts can help develop the complete picture of finances.
It’s not about accumulating every document you could imagine. It’s to collect the information necessary to answer specific financial queries.
The Discovery Process is altered by the ownership of a business
The matrimonial research process may be improved by a private firm.
Performing business valuation for divorce in New Jersey requires appropriate financial information about the company. A valuation expert may require previous financial statements along with tax records, ownership details and other documents depending on the engagement.
Troubles can result from insufficient information.
If you focus solely on the company’s revenue without considering expenses, then this is just a part of the overall financial picture. Looking at a single performance year could be misleading.
SJS Forensics assists counsel by the identification of relevant documents, assisting create specific discovery requests and examining documents for completeness and accuracy.
If a gap in your financial balance is small but it doesn’t mean that something went unnoticed.
The divorce process is an emotional process, and a transaction that is not understood can lead to suspicions.
The destination of a transfer may not be known until the documents are consulted. A huge withdrawal could be due to some common cause. On the other hand, a simple set of transactions could be worthy of closer examination when taken together.
The objective analysis is important because forensic accounting shouldn’t begin with the assumption that misconduct occurred.
The data should guide the analysis.
More Information can make Mediation More Effective
Financial experts often appear in courtrooms, however the type of analysis that is beneficial can start much earlier. If parties aren’t in agreement about the value of their business, their income, separate property or any other financial activity that is unusual the need to clarify these issues prior mediation can help determine the issues that are actually being debated.
SJS Forensics combines forensic accounting expertise with a settlement-oriented mindset and participates in mediation to resolve complex financial queries.
If testimony is required, an expert witness accountant for matrimonial litigation will be able to understand the analysis that underlies it and explain it in a clear manner to attorneys judges, mediators, as well as other non-accountants.
The goal is to reduce the unknowns
A divorce that is complex can include many financial transactions that were accumulated over many years. Financial clarity is not achieved by simply placing records in folders. The documents need to be reviewed for what they indicate as well as what remains unanswered or if additional details are required.
That’s the benefit of the forensic analysis of finances. The aim isn’t making divorce more difficult through the creation of a huge stack of papers. The objective is to minimize the amount of financial questions that remain unanswered in a complex divorce.