Having the right team on your side during a divorce is crucial—and that team includes more than just legal representation. It’s likely you'll also need an experienced forensic accounting team for disputes about assets, income, expenses and taxes.
Smolin’s Matrimonial Litigation Team can help you navigate the financial challenges that arise during divorce. We work to provide clarity and transparency on a marriage’s financial situation, while offering flexibility and practicality in solving litigation matters.
We provide services in all aspects of family and matrimonial matters, including divorce, child and spousal support, and property distribution.
With a long-standing background in family law matters, the team at Smolin is frequently court-appointed to testify in trials. We also serve as experts in arbitrations and mediations. And with experience in a wide variety of industries such as healthcare, technology, professional services, high net worth individuals, insurance, distribution, and non-profit organizations, Smolin’s team of highly qualified professionals can support you in each step of the way during the divorce and post-divorce process.
Our team helps to create clear financial evaluations while working to minimize high litigation costs for clients during the divorce process. We build strong relationships with our clients to become their most trusted advisors, and we bridge experience and flexibility for each of our cases to provide reliable information.
Our experienced team of professionals is here to help you with:
Closely held businesses aren’t easy to value, and a closely held business can make a divorce more complex to settle. There are numerous valuation methods available that are acceptable in the Family Court. However, choosing the right method and applying it correctly is often more of an art than a science.
A forensic accountant can review the business’ books to come up with a range of possible values. A Smolin professional will likely consider the business's revenue, earnings, cash flow and assets and then provide possible high and low value estimates. A spouse could then use those numbers to negotiate from an informed position.
In many instances, a couple has actually been separated or in marital distress for some time before they start divorce proceedings. Even though they may have been living separate lives, they may still have joint tax obligations. There could be questions about who owes what taxes and why.
A forensic accountant can reconstruct any tax filings, review all deductions and credits and analyze all income that was earned to determine whether one spouse should be more responsible for any tax liability.
Dividing debt during a divorce can often be the biggest issue couples face during their divorce. Between student loans, business loans, credit card debt, and mortgages, it can be hard to tell who is responsible for the debt and charges. An accountant can go through the debt statements and transactions to formulate an argument for why the debt should go to a specific spouse.
An accountant isn't just for digging through paperwork. They also provide expert testimony at trial, or during mediation or negotiations. It's always easier to advance an argument when you have exact numbers, analysis and proof to back it up.
That's what a forensic accountant provides—expert, authoritative research on your financial history. A forensic accounting team can be a valuable asset to have in your corner during divorce proceedings.
Calculating the net worth of a single person, and separating it from the net worth of a marriage, can present challenges. After calculating that, many people find themselves facing major lifestyle changes, after an entire income is removed from their lives.
A lifestyle analysis offers the opportunity to evaluate the standard of living that each spouse has come to expect from their lifestyle, so that each party can work to maintain the same level of living post-divorce. A Statement of Net Worth, along with a basic lifestyle analysis, will help establish the financial need.
These processes can be extremely complicated, and having a forensic accounting team for disputes about assets, income, and expenses can help divorcing couples sort out their tied wealth and set them both up for financially security post-divorce.
When it comes to litigation in divorce, the difference between success and failure can often depend on the strength and presentation of your facts. The more concrete and specific your facts and data are, the more persuasive your argument will be. Having an experienced and knowledgeable forensic accounting team is vital to litigation success.
A forensic accountant can be a valuable member of the team during marital dissolution litigation. Some assets, like closely held businesses, foreign investments and unqualified benefit plans, may not be easy to value. There are usually disputes about income and lifestyle, which can heavily influence the amount of support that's awarded.
We can dig into each spouse's financial records to find hidden assets, forecast expected income and determine value of the business assets. We can also testify in court, negotiation or in mediation to support our clients' arguments and reach optimal outcomes.
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