Lies About Assets

[bearwise]

Hi there

My x and I met with our lawyers again today to discuss a settlement. He has assets missing from his paper work now, has said assets he declared before were a mistake, he has listed liabilites that I had no knowledge of and business liabilities that during our marriage I had nothing to do with.. My lawyer says I have to prove the worth of the assets??

He also has property in his name that was gifted to him by his father, and we used the property for 13 yrs for recreational etc. even put a mobile home on it of course that is not part of the asset list for him .. of course not. I walked away with a new mortgage / most of the stuff I took was mine before marriage..

Really how does this work, my lawyer isn't really telling me anything except that if we have to go to court, I have to prove the worth of these assets such as tools, plows, trackors, etc...

i am so frustrated...

[arabian]

Unfortunately it is very difficult to put a value on used heavy equipment. You could look over recent sales at auctions (Ritchie Bros for example) on line and it shows what the year and make of the equipment sold for. You could also go to a tractor dealership and ask them what a realistic value would be for the tractor. If your husband operated a business then he would have the depreciated value of the equipment on his business accounting statements.

I think the best thing would be is to demand full financial disclosure of his business activities (if you haven't already done so).

Any property the two of you acquired during your marriage might be considered matrimonial property. He may not like putting the acreage under the asset list but he has little choice in the matter. Arm yourself with as much information as possible. Go to the registry office and do a title search on your home, your acreage and any other property you own and pray he didn't encumber it recently.

[bearwise]

Thank you for the response. I was told that the gifted property is his alone even though he acquired as a gift one of the large pieces of property from his father.. as for business he never kept business records.. made a lot of money over the course of 13 years but says he's poor now and has nothing... Stuck between a rock and hard place and very frustrating, even my lawyer is banging her head against the wall...

[arabian]

Did you share same bank accounts?
Gifted property - not relevant as the two of you were married. At least here in Alberta that's the deal. Read up on matrimonial property act in your province.

You say he made alot of money over the course of 13 yrs - how did you know? Did you see it? Was it deposited in your joint account?

He didn't keep business records? Even drug dealers have some sort of record keeping. Did he just work for cash and left no paper trail? If that's the case you're screwed on one hand. On the other hand you can present a "story book" case where you show your standard of living and the amount it cost to live that lifestyle etc.

[blinkandimgone]

Gifted property - not relevant as the two of you were married. At least here in Alberta that's the deal. Read up on matrimonial property act in your province.

It still needs to be listed as an asset, but not necessarily a shared asset.

[arabian]

Years ago it used to be a good thing to "gift" your kids the family cottage without them even knowing it. Tax loophole. Is there documentation perhaps in the father's will that states that the property was sold to son for $$$ and upon father's death the mortgage is to be forgiven and basically "gifted?" I would think it would be a good idea to keep your eyes on any and all documentation concerning the property in question. Dates and conditions of property transfer might be of interest to your lawyer.

[beebie]

You probably need to get a legal opinion on gifted property. As has been noted, gifted property can be exempt (in Alberta anyhow) or not. Was it transferred into one spouse's name or both? If it was gifted during the marriage, and was not a pre-inheritance or even if it was, it may be matrimonial property. How much did you work to increase the value of that land if anything?

Any increase in the value of that gifted property (if it is not matrimonial property) is shareable.

Anyhow you would be well advised to read the matrimonial property legislation for your province and consult an experienced lawyer on the topic or risk missing out.

[blinkandimgone]

The thing to remember is that whether or not it's exempted, it still MUST be listed as an asset. He can't just leave it out. If he wants it to be exempted, I believe the onus is on him to show why it should be, but in order to that it must be listed.

[OrleansLawyer]

The thing to remember is that whether or not it's exempted, it still MUST be listed as an asset. He can't just leave it out. If he wants it to be exempted, I believe the onus is on him to show why it should be, but in order to that it must be listed.

This is correct.