26
Nov 2015
What must you disclose when divorcing?
Family Law has once again been in the press recently with the Supreme Court giving two unanimous judgements reiterating the need for couples to give full and frank disclosure of their financial circumstances when divorcing. In the cases of Sharland and Gohil it transpired that the husbands had not provided the full details of the financial positions at the time that settlements were achieved with the wives. The husband in Sharland failed to mention that he was planning a public offering for his business which fundamentally increased the value of his assets. In Gohil, the husband simply did not disclose the true extent of his wealth. As such, the Court has determined that the wifes are entitled to revisit these settlements.
Divorcing couples must take notice of these judgements as they reinforce the obligation for them to provide nothing less than full and frank disclosure of all of their financial assets. Should one party seek to avoid this then they run the clear risk that any settlement agreement can be revisited and overturned. Comprehensive disclosure is required when reaching agreements about how to deal with matrimonial assets. Everything from bank statements to pension values are needed. In addition, any Trust assets are also relevant even if no benefit has ever been derived from the Trust. Gifts and inherited assets are similarly important.
The message from the Supreme Court is clear, couples must not seek to hide assets in an attempt to prevent them being included in a settlement. The obligation to disclose assets is comprehensive and to ignore this creates the risk that an agreement reached without a true picture of a party’s financial circumstances can be overturned.
Our specialist Family Lawyers have extensive experience in all aspects of Family Law. For advice contact us on 0800 015 0340.
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