Parties to a divorce may not be totally forthcoming with assets they own, so the valuation expert often has to help ferret them out. One tactic is to ask for “everything,” meaning all documents related to anything that involves the divorcing parties as either beneficiaries or fiduciaries. This includes trusts, estate plans, and wills—including the wills of other individuals (such as the spouses’ parents) in order to see whether the spouse will inherit anything. Be as broad as possible in your request and be aware that you may not always get everything you ask for but you need to ask anyway. Tax returns, particularly trust and estate returns, can provide a wealth of information to valuation experts, but you have to know where to look!

Locating hidden assets is just one of the topics that will be covered at the National Divorce Conference BVR and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) will present in Las Vegas, September 18-20. Leading matrimonial attorneys and financial experts will give you critical insights in sessions covering financial, valuation, forensic, and legal issues surrounding this growing area of practice. The conference will be both online and on-site at the Venetian Resort, and up to 17.5 CPE/CLE credits are available. Early-bird pricing is currently in effect, and you can register if you click here. We hope to see you at this unique event!