My Ex Is Hiding The True Value of Our Assets During Our Divorce. What Can I Do?

"My wife and I are divorcing, and our mediation sessions ended badly. She has always taken charge of our finances and is now being dishonest about how much money we accrued as a couple. We don’t have children to consider, but I’m feeling insecure about my financial future. What is my next step?"

Mediation can take some of the adversarial heat out of divorce proceedings, but it doesn’t work for everyone, particularly if one party feels they have more bargaining power than the other, or chooses to hide assets.

Whatever the nature of your contribution to the marriage it will be recognised by the Court based on your and your former partner’s future needs, using the process of Financial Remedy. This process sees the Court determine:

• How to distribute assets including pensions between former spouses or civil partners following divorce or dissolution of the civil partnership
• Whether there should be ongoing maintenance payments

Financial Remedies applications apply to married couples or those in a civil partnership who are in the process of getting or have got a divorce.

It is common for one party to a divorce to settle for what is being offered by the other because they do not have the resources for a long legal battle. If this is the case, it is vital that you speak openly about this to your Solicitor, who is in a position to push for a settlement that is fair to you. In some circumstances the Court will provide an order allowing money from the matrimonial assets to be used to meet your legal fees. However, these orders are not commonplace, so you should seek help from a legal specialist to prepare this complex application.

For more information, please contact Claire on: 01792 529657 or by email claire.davies@jcpsolicitors.co.uk.

The question posed is based upon a hypothetical situation.

This content does not constitute legal advice and is provided for general information purposes only.