VIC Finances and Divorce

[samantha tyne]

Hello,

I am going through a separation and divorce can probably find out some of this information from a divorce lawyer but have done quite a bit of research and am considering representing myself as would prefer to and don't have much in the way of finances. The thing I was mainly concerned with was I know I can ask for my ex husbands financial information and he has to provide it, but what say he only provides me with some of this information eg he is originally from NZ and may have bank accounts over there, how can I find this out what he has over there and what he has in Australia? How do I know if he provides me with only some of his asx share market portfolio or one of his bank accounts. Is it normal that a Melb lawyer will be able to access this information as a matter of routine / easily eg through his tax file number, govt? etc or is this quite difficult etc. Any help would be much appreciated Thank You Samantha

 

[InPerson Legal]

Hi Samantha,
There are a few things to consider in relation to your ex-spouse's disclosure of assets. The first is that every party to a property settlement is required to give full and frank disclosure, so that means he is legally required to provide the necessary information to properly value the asset pool. If your ex-spouse has a lawyer, he would be strongly advised to disclose everything because trying to hide assets can (and likely will) result in an adverse inference and a more favourable outcome for the innocent party. So I would expect that your ex should provide full details of all assets - it would be incredibly foolish to hide anything. If, upon discovery, you believe there are some details/assets missing, then you would take the next step of contacting the opposing lawyer and asking specifically about the suspected hidden assets. If his lawyer denies the existence of these assets, and they did in fact exist, there would be serious negative consequences - so again, another reason why your ex is likely to disclose everything.
If, even after all this, you're still convinced that he's hiding assets, and he's denying as such, then you're entering rather complex territory and I would highly recommend engaging a lawyer. Understandably, legal fees can stack up rather fast, and not everyone has the budget for it. If you're self representing and you need further advice or assistance with drafting documents/appearing in court, for example, look into SelfRep Assist by InPerson Legal - it's just an alternative to the all-or-nothing legal retainer and might be really beneficial in your circumstances.

In any event, I hope this helps.

 

[Abhishek saggar]

Hi,

I am going through a bit of a tough time, I am overseas resident however I used to live in Melbourne from 2009 to 2015 and I got married with a nz citizen living in Australia in 2015.
We also got married in India in 2016 as per our traditional, our main Plain plan was to live together in Australia however she changed her mind and now she’s wanted a divorce, she literally forced me to signed the mutual documents as she hold of some of very important stuff, like my academic records, my employment contract and lot of jewellery. She asked me to put the wrong dates so she can get the divorce without waiting for 1 year. She also bought the house last year. Now she’s isn’t replying to my emails, what’s app messages, she has blocked me from what’s app and online social platforms

I want to know what’s my rights while in overseas and how do I get my stuff back because I really don’t know if it’s save with her or not ?

Thanks,
Abhi saggar