Imagine getting years of financial documents, like bank statements as well as tax records, credit card statements, Payroll reports and brokerage statements.

Technically, you’ve got the information.

Practically speaking, you might have some questions.

Financial records might not always be available, but this does not make matrimonial disputes more difficult. It’s often difficult to identify the relevant documents and determine when there are significant missing elements.

Start With the Question Don’t start with the Spreadsheet

A forensic accountant for white collar defense may approach financial discovery differently from someone simply organizing documents.

Imagine that the dispute involves funds that are available to support. A tax return can be helpful but an owner of a business or a professional with a high level of compensation may receive compensation in various ways. Distributions, bonuses, salary and other types of compensation could require additional examination based on the situation.

If there’s an issue about assets that could not have been disclosed, different records may be relevant. Banking activity, transfers and spending patterns may be utilized to create a complete picture of financial activity.

The aim is not to accumulate all documents. It’s to obtain the records required to answer specific financial questions.

Business Ownership Modifies the Discovery Process

The matrimonial search process could be enhanced by a private firm.

The process of valuing a business for divorce in New Jersey requires appropriate financial details regarding the company. According to the nature of the transaction an expert may require historical financial statements, tax information as well as ownership records and other records that aid in understanding the business and developing an assessment.

Incomplete information could cause problems.

If, for instance, you only look at the revenue, and do not consider expenses, it is not possible to tell the complete story of a company’s finances. Analyzing a single performance year can also be misleading.

SJS Forensics helps counsel by making sense of relevant documents, preparing targeted discovery requests as as analyzing the material produced to ensure accuracy.

If a gap in your financial balance is small however, that does not mean that something went unnoticed.

Unknown transactions can easily raise suspicions during divorce proceedings, since they’re emotional.

It’s sometimes difficult to tell which transfer was done. A huge withdrawal may have a common explanation. An apparently routine sequence of transactions might be interesting at when taken in context.

The objective assessment is important as forensic accounting cannot start by assuming that there has been a breach of the law.

The data should guide the analysis.

Improved Information Could Make Mediation More Effective

Financial experts typically appear in courtrooms, but the kind of analysis that can be useful can start much earlier. Understanding the issue prior to mediation can be helpful if the parties are not in agreement over the value of business or income, separate property or unusual financial activities.

SJS Forensics can help resolve difficult financial issues by combining forensic accounting knowledge and a settlement-oriented method.

When testimony is necessary for matrimonial litigation, a certified witness accountant in matrimonial disputes will be able to understand the underlying analysis and explain the details to attorneys, judges, mediators as well as other non-accountants.

The goal is to eliminate the unknowns

Even a divorce may be accompanied by thousands of financial transactions that have been built up over a prolonged period of time. Simply putting the records in folders does not provide clarity on financial matters. It’s the responsibility of someone to decide what documents are required, what questions remain unanswered and what additional information is needed.

This is the value of an analysis of forensics. The goal isn’t to make divorce more complicated by creating a new pile of paperwork. It’s to simplify a financial situation and slowly reduce the number of questions left unanswered.