Questionnaires in Divorce and hiding or disposing of assets, and the London experience
Questionnaires in Divorce
When your spouse’s Form E arrives you may well find it unsatisfactory. You will have the opportunity of putting questions to the spouse about it. Questions mean questions. It does not mean that you plead your case, or make points.
A legitimate question might be “You say you have a bank account at Barclays Clapham & you say you have attached the statements, but there are no statements for the period September to December 2014”.
Another legitimate question might be “You say you have no assets worth more than £500 but do not accept that the watch that your father gave you that you wear on special occasions is worth at least £5,000?”
What would not be a legitimate question would be “Do you accept that you are a lying bastard?” or “Have you ever thought of getting a job?”
That legitimate question might be “Are you aware – and can you see from the attached document – that jobs for receptionists are readily available in your town and vacancies exist that pay part time up to £12,000 per annum?.
Expert legal advice should be sought before submitting your questionnaire.
Hiding or Disposing of Assets
In a divorce case the judge approaches it with two tasks. He first determines the size of the matrimonial “pot” and then how to split it.
Many spouses (typically a wealthy husband) will try to reduce the size of the “pot” by hiding it by putting it into family names using trusts and offshore companies.
A prudent wife should be aware of this and gather as much documents innovation as she can and if the evidence is there you can apply to the high court for a worldwide freezing order forcing the husband to disclose all his assets where they are and not to move them around.
This is an extremely effective tool and if the husband is shown to be misleading the court he will come to heel and beg to settle. Very often at that point the other spouse will say “no see you in court”.
These businessmen often hide assets and get people to say that things belong to them but when push comes to shove and a court case comes their friends will not help them. The friend might write a letter but will not actually lie on oath nor should that be encouraged.
Take early advice and expert advice if this is happening to you.
The Principal Registry in London judges are far use to what other County Court might consider to be ‘high’ awards of capital and maintenance.
London judges in particular are very experienced and sophisticated when it comes to investigating assets, especially overseas companies and trusts, and anecdotally especially for wives.
London has been called the wife’s divorce capital of the world.
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My ex did a good job of disposing/hiding the assets, claiming that he had lost all of it. Most likely he gave them to his new lover. Didnt know this was applicable. Maria.
Such a shame you can’t call your soon-to-be ex husband a lying bastard, but so be it! The questionnaire is a good way of ferreting out any hidden assets, so use it cleverly. Good luck all.
Interesting!!