If you’re searching for ‘Forensic accounting divorce’, our specialist forensic accountants are here to help. With decades of forensic accountancy experience and an outstanding reputation for our work on divorce cases, Frenkels Forensics is ideally placed to assist you in achieving a fair financial settlement.
For assistance call us on 0330 118 8200 or Make An Online Enquiry.
How Can Forensic Accounting For Divorce Help?
The breakdown of a marriage is never easy. On top of the emotional turmoil a separation can cause, you may have significant concerns about the financial implications of your divorce on your and your family’s quality of life.
When a couple separates, their joint assets must be divided fairly. What is ‘fair’ will depend on the couple’s circumstances, such as the length of their marriage, their earning potential, the financial situation of any new partners, and the needs of any children.
Before the parties can come to a fair agreement about how their assets should be divided or to assist the Court in making an Order if no such agreement can be reached, the couple’s assets must be valued.
Sometimes, valuing a couple’s assets is straightforward. For example, if their assets comprise primarily property, the exercise might require them to obtain valuations of those properties at the relevant time.
Other times, valuing a couple’s assets is decidedly more complicated, particularly where one or both spouses own significant business interests. That’s where forensic accounting for divorce comes in. With our forensic accountancy skills and experience in divorce matters, we can accurately value your or your ex-partner’s business interests to add to the pot to be shared between you.
How Does Forensic Accounting Divorce Work?
Valuing a business for the purposes of a divorce financial settlement is incredibly tricky. It is usually a hypothetical exercise since one of the spouses almost always retains their business interest following their divorce being finalised, with the other receiving cash or other assets equivalent to what could be deemed their fair share of it.
Several methods can be used when valuing a business. Knowing which would be appropriate in any given case requires a detailed understanding not only of how each method operates but also an appreciation of the specific business model and sector, and the nature of the interest held by the owing spouse.
Some of the more common methods forensic accounting divorce experts use to value businesses in divorce cases include the Dividend Yield Method, the Net Assets Method, and the Capitalised Future Maintainable Earning Method.
How Are A Forensic Accounting Divorce Expert’s Findings Used?
A divorcing couple is expected to attempt to settle the issues arising from their separation wherever possible. Litigation should always be a last resort. To that end, they cannot make any applications to the Court for assistance with reaching a financial settlement until they have attended a meeting known as a ‘MIAM’, which stands for Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting.
At a MIAM, an impartial third party known as the Mediator discusses the issues arising from the separation, including the division of the couple’s assets. The parties can meet with the Mediator jointly or separately.
The purpose of a MIAM is for the Mediator to assess the suitability of the matter for mediation. Mediation is a form of dispute resolution that aims to facilitate the settlement of a divorcing couple’s issues without the need for Court proceedings. You are not obliged to partake in the mediation process even if the outcome of the MIAM is that the Mediator considers your case suitable.
However, most family law solicitors encourage their clients to engage in mediation in a bid to settle their matters as swiftly and cost-efficiently as possible. If you go ahead with mediation in connection with the financial aspects of your divorce, understanding the extent and nature of the assets that fall to be divided is crucial. Without such an understanding, there can be no way of knowing whether any settlement reached is fair. Being in possession of a forensic accountant’s report on the value of the relevant business interests allows you to enter meaningful settlement discussions and objectively assess any settlement proposals. In short, your mediation has a greater chance of success.
If your case is unsuitable for mediation, or if mediation fails, the Court will need an understanding of the couple’s assets before it can decide on a fair divorce settlement. A forensic accountant’s findings on the value of the couple’s business interests are often vital to the outcome of the Court proceedings, since the Judge will rely on them when deciding how to divide the pot.
At Frenkels Forensics, we pride ourselves on offering exceptional forensic accountancy services at affordable rates. We are sensitive and discreet and will never inflame what may already be a difficult situation. Instead, we will deliver a concise, clear and easily digestible report that enables you and your legal team to understand the value of your and your ex-partner’s assets and ensure you receive everything you are entitled to in your divorce settlement.
To discover more, please call us on 0330 118 8200 or Make An Online Enquiry.
“Thank you ever so much for the work and advice you have provided . The report was clear and accessible and will not hesitate to recommend you all.”
“I am indebted to you for your contribution, and for explaining things in plain English such that even lawyers can understand the issues”
“May I take this opportunity to thank you for your assistance in this matter. Counsel and the judge said that your report was one of the best they had seen in that it was concise and technically easy to understand.”