Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

How much did financial disclosure cost you?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • How much did financial disclosure cost you?

    If you hired a lawyer, how much did you end up paying for your lawyer to review financial disclosure (either from yourself or your ex).

    If it was a lot how do you think it could have been cheaper?

  • #2
    Good question. My lawyer didn't exactly leap on that task.

    I ended up paying a forensic accountant a few grand to go through the books. My Ex was self employed and I was under the impression her income was larger than it turned out to be for many reasons. This impression was furthered because we spent a lot of time and effort and a motion (that we won) getting full disclosure. In the end it turned out my ex made less than i thought and was either stubborn or somehow frozen and unable to disclose. I used the information I gained to reset my perceptions, get a reality check, start trusting and/or understanding my ex more and I settled fast.

    So if I count the motion costs, letter, form 20 prep and the forensic accountant I was probably at about 6-7 grand which is nuts considering this is mandated by law. My lawyer spent all the effort getting the docs. He spent very little time interpreting them (wasn't his area of expertise although his "best guess" was just about bang on.

    What can you do? It's over now thank God and peace is finally here so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

    Comment


    • #3
      If the two of you exchange financial information and allow for a time period to examine (perhaps a month?) then I don't really know what your problem is. I did this with my ex. When he presented silly invoices I requested corroborating bank statements. If he was unable to provide that information I deleted the expense. When we sat with a judge we presented our independent figures and judge made the decision. I opted for binding arbitration instead of trial as we had no child issues. Our 30 year marriage, with business, was decided/arbitrated in one day with direction of a judge.

      You can make things difficult (which will cost you dearly with legal fees and frustration) or you can simplify things and make good offers to settle. If you are going into your negotiations trying to be a right-fighter then you will lose miserably.

      Compromise and be realistic. Deal with facts.

      BTW - unless your lawyer has a separate degree in business (which few have) the lawyer likely knows less than you do about your business. Sometimes your best (and least expensive resources) are your bank manager and your accountant. Forget "forensic" accountants unless you have an extremely complicated financial situation with many partners or trusts. If you can't read/understand simple bank accounts then you should bone-up on simple accounting before spending mega-bucks on expensive accountants. Don't let your emotions drive your good sense. "Think before you retain."
      Last edited by arabian; 03-16-2016, 12:10 AM.

      Comment

      Our Divorce Forums
      Forums dedicated to helping people all across Canada get through the separation and divorce process, with discussions about legal issues, parenting issues, financial issues and more.
      Working...
      X