Fighting over $3m some 15 years after couple split

Why hiding your assets in a divorce is a poor idea

- Tan Ooi Boon

It was a case of better late than never for a woman who discovered that her crafty ex-husband had hidden around $3 million from the asset split when they divorced 15 years earlier.

The ex-wife now wants her rightful share of the hidden stash, estimated at $1.4 million as she claims she was entitled to 44.5 per cent of their overall matrimonial assets.

The couple had agreed to split their asets worth $4.5 million when their marriage ended in 2010 with a "consent order" that awarded the woman $2 million, or 44.5 per cent.

All was well for a decade until the parties clashed over the amount of maintenance the ex-husband should pay for their two children.

He had asked a court to reduce the sum from about $5,800 a month to $2,500 but blundered by inadvertently talking about a foreign bank account that was not disclosed in their past dealings.

With the cat out of the bag, the ex-wife engaged a financial sleuth to look into that account. The "forensic investigative report" that followed revealed that there was a balance of about US$1.9 million around the time when they split.

Further checks also uncovered that the ex-husband had a stake of US$800,000 in a company that was also not disclosed during their divorce settlement.

This meant the couple should have been looking at an asset division of $7.7 million instead of $4.5 million.

DISCLOSURE IS MANDATORY

Cases like this highlight the risk of one party hiding assets whenever couples make decisions without any inquiry or a court order for a full and frank disclosure of just what each party owns.

In this case, the husband's lawyer argued that a full disclosure might not be mandatory for all negotiations for divorce settlements, especially when couples were in touch directly.

For instance, spouses might sometimes agree to divide the matrimonial home and retain any assets held in their sole names without disclosing the full list of all assets.