Going through a divorce can be a complicated process. Working out maintenance and child visitation, how to divide a business, debt, etc. can all add to the stress of your divorce. If a couple’s finances are particularly complex, it may require a forensic accountant. A forensic accountant for a divorce is someone who details all the debts, assets, and other financial aspects in the divorce and presents that information in a courtroom. Divorce attorneys can help with general financial aspects of a divorce, but for more complex matters it may be necessary to work with a forensic accountant to ensure the finances are taken care of properly.
How Can Forensic Accounting Help Me?
Forensic accountants are most often used in high net worth divorce cases but can be used by anybody if they are needed. Some of the ways a forensic accountant can help your divorce case by searching to see if there are hidden assets, evaluating the long-term impact of the divorce on finances, or determining the value of assets and evaluating expenses. To do so they will examine any deeds, stocks, investments, bank statements, etc. and compile everything together.
The forensic accountant can be especially helpful if you believe your spouse is hiding assets. For example, if they bought some cryptocurrency in the past and have not disclosed it to you or the court, that could be very valuable and will need to be considered in the division of assets in your case. If your divorce is amicable, you probably do not need to worry about that issue as much, but it is still beneficial to you to make sure everything is accounted for in your case. Often forensic accountants are used for business valuation. Business finances and personal finances for business owners are often intermingled in complex ways, and the forensic accountant will determine where assets should be placed for divorce considerations.
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