If you’re going through a divorce, one of the things you need to do is to make sure you can identify all your assets. Doing this isn’t always easy, especially if you have some unusual assets or aren’t privy to all of your spouse’s assets.
If you find yourself in that situation, then you may want to hire a forensic accountant. A forensic accountant will take a look at your accounts and find hidden or missing assets. Forensic accountants use techniques like auditing, accounting and investigative skills to locate assets. They examine bank accounts, but they also look for where money is going. If there are unusual outgoing payments or transfers, they will look into them.
Should everyone work with a forensic accountant?
It can be a good idea to work with a forensic accountant whether you believe there are missing or hidden assets or not. Why? They are trained in following the money and know what to look for in cases like yours. They can go through your accounts and help you locate assets that you may have forgotten about or not known about. If you think that money is missing or that assets have disappeared, they may be able to track them for you, as well.
Both you and your spouse can have a separate forensic accountant. That way, you’ll cover all your bases and be able to find all of the assets that you, as well as your spouse, have in your possession. This makes dividing those assets much easier as you move forward with your divorce.
Your attorney can help you with the property division process once you’ve identified all the assets you own.