The Divorce process is difficult on most people but can be especially daunting if you do not know about your assets. The whereabouts and amounts may be a mystery to one of the parties. There are a number of ways to discover those assets. Initially, both parties are required to fill out a financial disclosure’ this is commonly referred to as AOC form 238 – Preliminary Verified Disclosure Statement (also 238 or PVDS). (If you need to fill out the form, click link) Under oath, each party is required to list all assets. If assets are in question, often your attorney will follow up with additional discovery in the form of Interrogatories and/or Request for Documents.
Interrogatories are questions under oath. They may include financial, parenting, lifestyle questions, and any non-marital claims. The receiving party is required to answer the questions, under penalty of perjury, within 30 days of receipt. Request for Production of Documents is essentially self defining. The attorney may request that the other party produce documents; these often include tax returns, financial statements, paystubs, and documents evidencing ownership such as car titles and deeds to property.
In more extreme cases where there are concerns of asset diversion or hiding, the attorney may issue subpoenas. A subpoena may be issued to employers, financial institutions and banks. They are demands for documents directly to the institution. This is used to verify that the information provided by the party in the request for documents is truthful, complete and accurate. In cases that settle prior to trial, your attorney may request language that all financial information has been provided and that neither party has any other accounts, winning lottery tickets or other assets which have not been fully disclosed. In some cases where trust remains at issue, one or both parties may demand a “finder’s keepers” clause. This clause would allow that if an asset was not disclosed and is later discovered, that the party finding would receive 100% ownership from the party hiding the asset. Most often, this is used to assure full disclosure and compliance.
If you are involved in a divorce you need to fully be aware of all of the assets belonging to you and your spouse. Make sure that your attorney is performing due diligence in discovering any assets. Michael Bouldin has been providing divorce services for clients since 1994. For consultation and representation, contact Michael Bouldin or email [email protected] or call 859-581-6453.