It is only natural in some cases that divorcing couples will want to keep some aspects of their finances to themselves during a divorce but this can come back to bite unsuspecting ex husbands or ex wives at a later date.
The importance of declaring everything about finances is not only the right thing to do in most cases but also essential to avoid repercussions later. The process of dividing up money and assets during a divorce can be complicated enough and even more complicated if one or other ex-spouse is then taken back to court years later due to something that wasn’t disclosed to the court as part of the original divorce proceedings.
This actually occurred in a recent case where a husband had misled his former wife about who would be the beneficiary of a Trust. The wife understood that the children were the beneficiaries and this was approved by the court in 2010. It was later discovered, however, that the husband was actually the beneficiary.
The husband was subsequently hauled back to court in 2015 and would no doubt risk having to pay back or transfer any money which should have been for the couple’s children. The case not only highlights the need for full disclosure but also for both parties to be 100% clear on financial arrangements before they are approved by the court.