Obtaining a divorce is a legal procedure, with many legal requirements and forms to be submitted. California requires several Financial forms to be completed by each spouse separately, and then shared with the other spouse as full disclosure: a schedule of assets and debts (and whether they are personal or part of the common property), a property declaration (again, listing personal and common property), and an income and expense declaration. These forms are several pages long and quite thorough but it is important to complete them openly and honestly. Unfortunately, some people do not believe they have to complete these forms accurately. This may be due to pure laziness, or worse, deceitfulness. Either way, spouses who fail to disclose all of their information may not realize how much trouble they could get in. That is because these Disclosure Forms are signed under the pains and penalties of perjury as true, accurate and complete statements of all of their income, expenses, assets and liabilities.

If your spouse’s disclosure forms are incomplete because of laziness, it will probably be easy for you to notice. Some parts may be left blank, others may say “unknown”. If that is the case, you should insist on your spouse completing the missing information. Otherwise, you can request the family court judge to subpoena the missing financial information. The same request can be made if you believe that your spouse is lying on his/her Financial Disclosure Forms at the time of divorce. There are significant consequences if a judge finds your spouse has lied or filed an incomplete financial statement, the most obvious one being that the judge will consider your spouse an unreliable witness. The judge will now question every statement with greater scrutiny.

Sometimes, you may have reasons to believe that your spouse has disclosed all financial information and you will sign a final agreement based on that information. However, a few months or years later, you may find out that your spouse actually lied and left some particular assets off the Financial Disclosure forms. If that is the case, you need to gather all the evidence you can (even better in writing), and go back to court to request a revision of your settlement. If the court agrees with your findings, it may void the previous settlement for fraud, and award that discovered asset to you instead. Your spouse may also be forced to pay fines, your attorney fees, and may even be incarcerated if the fraud has been proven extensive.

The most glaring example of this is the California case in which the wife won the lottery for Twenty-Five Million Dollars. Instead of her rushing home to tell her husband of their new found wealth she served him with divorce papers instead. She failed to disclose the winnings on her financial disclosure forms. Only after the divorce was final did she turn in the ticket. Her now EX-husband got wind of her deception and took her back to court seeking half of the prize. The judge found that the wife had indeed committed fraud on her disclosure and instead gave the husband the entire lottery award and gave the wife nothing at all. A true case of "and the truth shall set you free."

Not fully disclosing your financial information up front is never a good idea and may put you in deep waters if a spouse discovers you have been lying. This financial affidavit is signed under oath and filed with the court, so any lie can be considered perjury. It is essential to be honest and not hide, understate or undervalue personal or marital assets or debts, as well as not report lower than actual income or higher than actual expenses. Of course inaccuracies in these forms are common because going through your personal finances may seem difficult. You may feel like guessing instead of researching the accurate numbers. If you feel overwhelmed by the procedure, or other aspects of your divorce requirements, it is important to look for help rather than risk getting accused of perjury. A family law mediator has experience with all aspects of divorce, including financial requirements, and will be able to guide both spouses together in order to reach a prompt resolution. It is a much simpler and less expensive alternative to extensive litigation.

To learn more about the mediation process, complete our request for a free online evaluation, and to receive a free 30-minute phone consultation, visit us at www.afairway.com, or call 619-702-9174.