There are certain challenges that come with divorcing a dishonest spouse. Our Saratoga divorce lawyers can help you navigate the divorce process if your soon-to-be ex-spouse is giving you a hard time.
Divorcing a Dishonest Spouse | Finding Hidden Money in a Business
Today’s access to electronic records – and records in general – make it very difficult to hide money. It can be done, but it’s difficult. For example, we sometimes find money hidden in business accounts where the business’ cash accounts continue to accrue money that is not paid to the business owner. These retained accounts sometimes grow to unreasonable levels – and then the spouse who owns the business says, “Let’s divide the business assets. I’ll give you 20%.” This means the non-titled spouse receives 20% of that cash – or whatever percentage is named – instead of the 50% they might have received if those funds had been paid out and properly placed into another marital account, such as a checking or savings account.
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Divorcing a Dishonest Spouse | Unable to Locate Your Spouse
In the state of New York, you can obtain a divorce even if you cannot locate your spouse. Possibly, you will have to actually file for divorce and then make a motion to the court seeking permission to serve your spouse by some means other than personal service – usually by publication in a paper, meaning that legal notice is served via publication. Once that’s completed, if there is no response, the court will entertain a motion for a judgment of divorce.
Divorcing a Dishonest Spouse | Ex is Not Following the Orders of Custody
If your ex isn’t following your order of custody as issued by family court, you can apply in the family court to enforce that order, through a petition for enforcement. You can also seek remedy through the family court if your order of custody was made through a judgment of divorce, so long as the Supreme Court didn’t retain exclusive jurisdiction. In most cases – at least locally – the Supreme Court does not retain exclusive jurisdiction over custodial matters, so you can also apply for remedy in the family court. To succeed on an enforcement petition, you must present a valid existing order of custody to the court and show that your ex failed to obey that order. The court has many remedies available to punish your ex for disobeying the order.
IF you are looking for fierce legal representation while you’re divorcing a dishonest spouse, don’t hesitate to call us. Our Saratoga divorce attorneys are here to help.
