Hidden Bank Accounts in Marriage and Divorce

Fat_Cat

Hi All,

Unfortunately my friend has just told me that her husband of 34 years wants a divorce. He lives in the far east with work and she lives here in the UK. She knows that they have lots of bank accounts open (probably in offshore accounts) but does not know any details about them. She just knows about their main joint current account

What do you all think would be the best way of trying to find out about these accounts short of writing or phoning them? She remembers signing lots of documents to open various accounts and previously when things were good they did share the accounts but know he receives all the correspondence at his overseas address.

He has offered a lump sum payment plus a portion of his salary while he is employed, but she has no idea if this is a good offer or not as she does not know what their assets are.

Any help would really be gratefully received and apologies if i have posted this in the wrong place!

Thanks

eira

Root out paperwork regarding the accounts-making a note of account nos etc.Check balances carefully.Is withdrawal on one signature or two ? Where are the accounts based ? Check the amount and date withdrawn-any particularly large amounts gone eg asset purchase amounts. Where is he resident/domiciled for tax purposes and who pays him ?
I would do this thoroughly ,methodically and quietly before doing anything else-it is at this stage that assets and income can be sent into the ether.
What is the pension situation and where are the funds held ?

I would be very very wary if there is a serial monogamist in the background-some individuals get rich pickings out of divorce and know the ropes.

I believe there are businesses called forensic accountants that can track down accounts and assets. I would really go down the financial detail route before doing anything else. Any promise of future income etc needs to be taken with a pinch of salt-even if the intention is there it can easily be sidestepped. Also what currency would this income be paid in-who'd pay the bank fees?

Check also whether there is a Reciprocal Enforcement Agreement with the other country-things are hard enough with it-without it you haven't got a chance unless the other party is honest. Be extra wary of solicitors (and barristers) in international divorce situations.Read up (easily done on the net) on the specific countries distribution of assets law.In the US it even varies accross states.

Being cynical the offer sounds like a fob off-how much is the lump sum ? what assets are included or compensated for? /a portion of his income 'as long as he is employed'-what does that mean in terms of cash duration.Sounds suspiciously as if he is trying to do this on the cheap-and if she doesn't want a divorce she can hang on for five years and if he proves untrustworthy and lives overseas the divorce can be stopped (there is case precedent for this ).Tack no 1 and most important of all is that discreet hunt for accounts and if necessary get an accountant to examine them.Beware of any joint debts or any opportunity to run them up. In sum-be discreet,be thorough,get everything documented and don't be railroaded or panicked into anything

Primrose

There is no point now in your friend wishing that she had not opted out of being in control of finances so obviously she needs to search her house for all the paperwork she can find and get in touch with the banks concerned. However, if her husband has been in control of their money it's probable that he now has the paperwork with him in the country in which he is working, and if the UK address was originally registered, it's highly possible that he could have subsequently contacted the various banks and changed their address so that paperwork is send elsewhere. If she signed paperwork agreeing that one signature in a joint account would be sufficient, I think the harsh reality is that all the money in question has now been spirited away elsewhere and she will never see a penny of it again. Your friend needs the advice of a solicitor. It's also possible that some of this money may be liable for UK tax and hasn't been declared.
Ladies everywhere, please take this as an object lesson and don't sit back and let your partner take control of your finances just because you don't understand them.

Errata

He'll be required to do a full financial disclosure. If she thinks anything has been left out she should tell her solicitor. Judges don't like granting divorces if the applicant has been less than honest about disclosure, so it's in the husband's interest to be honest if he wants a divorce.

Notsosharp

I think even if the hubby doesn't tell the truth about all the bank accounts/assests he has etc the courts can order something called discovery the cost of which will have to be paid by him.

So really its in his best interest to be honest and if not, and your friend can prove he has more then he is letting on then tough luck him! One major thing they look out for is if his lifestyle does not match up to the amount of money he has, say like if he goes on expensive holidays etc but says he only earns 20k a year.

Fat_Cat

thanks for you all your help and advice. Unfortunately she lives here in the UK and he is abroad and i think he has all the paperwork relating to the other accounts there (I assume he has changed the address with banks for all correspondence to go to him).

What we're trying to find out is where the accounts are and what are in them, but we have no idea where to start as there is no paper trail.

bunty109

By the sounds of it, he's not offering her any of his pension? I'd ensure that your friend makes sure that is put on the table for discussion for a start: if there isn't one and he's in a well-paid job (and then you might assume he'd have one), it might start to bring to light where the money is?

Primrose

Don't know if this will help your friend, but there is a website facility which helps individuals to trace lost bank & building society accounts in the UK. http://www.mylostaccount.org.uk/index.htm
This FREE service is offered by the British Bankers' Association (BBA), the Building Societies Association (BSA) and National Savings and Investments (NS&I).
mylostaccount.org.uk brings together the three tracing schemes of BBA, BSA and NS&I into a single website. This means that anyone with a lost account with a bank, a building society, NS&I – or all three – can initiate a search simply by visiting this website and completing only one application form.
All three provide comprehensive coverage of their respective areas:

• The BBA scheme covers 43 banks that take retail deposits in the UK
• The BSA scheme covers all 59 UK building societies
• The NS&I scheme covers all National Savings and Investments products as well as the old Post Office Savings Bank accounts.

If your friend signs up to this and ticks every single institution on the on-line application, that should at least cover any accounts which have been opened in the UK. I used it once as an Executor, trying to discover whether I'd missed any accounts which I was unaware of. It's not a speedy service though. It took several months before they were able to come back to me with an answer.

sarymclary

I do wonder if she will have any rights to any accounts held outside the UK though. When I was beginning divorce proceedings, my ex was due to fly to an EU country to work, and he had to be served with his papers before he left the Jurisdiction, and an emergency court hearing was held (in his absence) prior to him flying, by my solicitor, in order to freeze all his assets here, so that he couldn't take £ out of the country, because UK law doesn't apply outside this country. If he is living/working overseas, then I do wonder if she will have any rights to anything outside the UK?
I would suggest your friend seeks proper legal advice.

As an aside, my ex and I did reconcile after that point, only to then go through it all again several years later, at which point my ex withdrew all our money (£40k+) and I never saw it again. The courts/solicitor/barrister couldnt' find out what he'd done with it. He did get into a lot of trouble by stalling his disclosure of finances, but this just shows how appropriate legal advice is necessary in something this tricky.

Any

I think that might be very valid point Sarymclary.
The chances are that noone can reach into his accounts abroad... God knows how many there is in his single name only!! and money already moved into it.
I would advice your friend to get damn good lawyer!

eira

I agree with Primrose-try and locate the accounts first-and get a financial specialist to help. Solicitors will take your money and charge the earth for not doing as good a job as an accountant.You can have all the disclosure notices etc in the world and it will work only if a)the solicitor is rigorous,very knowledgable and completely thorough .As a sample I had a barrister an 'expert in international divorce law' who charged £7500 for 'exploring the tax implications' of a US annuity.He was so ill prepared that the judge dismissed him in court.The information was freely available via IR international helpline , from the US annuity firm and their literature, Total time taken 40 mins, cost two international and one UK call. I did ask the barrister what he'd done for the £7500-was told I had no right to ask.

As long as the marriage stays in place she will be the legal inheritor of all joint assets-and a widow's pension. Try on here to see if someone else has experience of the laws in the spouse's country. For all the stories in the tabloids of rich divorcees there's a raft of people who end up ruined by solicitors-and you have zero comeback