Finding Hidden Assets on Divorce: The Elusive Gold Pot at the End of the Rainbow

There are various versions of the myth about gold and rainbows. Perhaps the most ancient version goes that fairies with great wealth buried their treasures and gold at the end of the rainbow, guarded by Leprechauns.

Any experienced family lawyer, therefore, has to be on alert to the fact that the colour of one’s disclosure might in fact be caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light.

Some attempts to conceal assets are more elaborate than others. From ‘doctoring’ bank statements to fraudulent documents. The ability to challenge evidence comes with experience and is assisted by ever-developing new technologies. Over the years I have been involved in cases where we have been able to ‘date’ signatures, prove that a certain type of font did not exist at the time a document was ‘created’, track down metadata and ‘rip up’ deeds of trust. There is almost always a clue.

On the one hand technology can pose challenges. Services such as ‘Hawala’ enable a person to make international money transfers anonymously. On the other hand technology is a gift. The synchronisation of devices and apps between parties to a marriage can be a problem to even the most devious spouse.. I saw a recent story in which the synchronisation between a married couple of the data captured by a Fitbit app revealed to a wife that her husband was reaching ‘peak performance’ at 4am (unfortunately for him he was not at home at the time!).

Smart phones can be flipped in the flick of a password. From fake calculators to secret phone settings, one password can change the content and appearance of a phone all together. In rare cases orders for the delivery up of a mobile device can be viewed by the courts as necessary and proportionate.

‘They are too clever’, ‘you will never find it’. These are the anxieties that so often exist.

But we don’t always need to find it. Just proving that the hidden pot of gold probably does exist at the end of the rainbow is enough to bring the elusive riches into the court’s light. Family proceedings are determined on the ‘balance of probabilities’, not to the criminal standard of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.

Therefore the failure to provide evidence can be just as good as obtaining the evidence. 

So here are some easy tips for those that have concerns :

1. Establish a chronology at the very start. Has the marriage been in difficulty for some time? It is possible that a party will plan the movement of assets, doing this whilst staying in an unhappy marriage to allow enough time to pass

2. Act quickly and decisively to seek orders and place disclosure obligations on the other spouse;

3. When in doubt seek original documents. Challenge those documents;

4. Often the best evidence lies outside of the box. So do your thinking here. I was involved in a case where a document between a company and individual was successfully challenged on the basis that whilst the company had been set up as at the date of the document, it had not been registered at Companies House until the following day. Therefore, the company number appearing in the document could not have existed as at the date the document was said to have been prepared and executed. On another occasion, we established that a signature appearing on a deed of trust had probably been written a few years later than the date of the document. We did this by using documentation available publicly (Companies House, Land Registry etc) to extract historical signatures and compare these to more recent signature.

5. Bring in a network of professional experts (handwriting experts, IT specialists etc).

Remember, you don’t need to find the pot of gold. A shimmer of light and a reflection of gold will do.

Please feel free to private message me and/or to view my full profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhandsfamilysolicitor/. Alternatively get in touch with me by email (mark.hands@irwinmitchell.com) if you would like to confidentially discuss any family law issues.