There are many ways to find out what your spouse owned or currently owns in a financial settlement matter.
At the outset, it is the obligation of each party, pursuant to the Family Law Act 1975 and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021, to provide “full and frank disclosure” of all of their assets, liabilities, superannuation interests and financial resources.
The disclosure of information required extends to paper documents (e.g. bank statements and tax returns), information stored on a computer device or any information which the other party may not know about. Disclosure must be made in relation to the parties current direct and indirect financial matters. This means that information relating to earnings, interest, property and income must also be disclosed. Any property that has been disposed of by way of sale, transfer or gift immediately prior to separation or after separation must also be disclosed, so as not to deplete any claim.
In the event of non-disclosure, we are also able to conduct Property Searches and Company Searches (should your spouse be involved in a company) to determine ownership or involvement. The Property Searches are governed by each State. This means we are able to locate any property currently held, or previously held, by your spouse in each state of Australia. The Company Searches are provided by the Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC) and can produce information relating to the company’s Directors, shareholders and assets since the inception of the Company.
Alternatively, if your spouse has not complied with the disclosure obligations, and we are unable to locate property by way of a Property or Company Search, it is possible, once court proceedings have been initiated, to issue a subpoena for the production of documents (e.g. to a bank), a subpoena to give evidence (e.g. from an accountant with knowledge of the relevant party’s financial circumstances) or both.