The Divorce Lawyer’s Unfair Advantage: the CPA

What does a forensic accountant do in divorce? What does a forensic accountant look for? Why do you need a forensic accountant?

The Forensic Accounting Deskbook by Miles Mason, Sr. JD, CPA, published by the ABA Family Law Section

For a much more detailed discussion, see The Forensic Accounting Deskbook: A Practical Guide to Financial Investigation and Analysis for Family Lawyers, Second Edition, authored by Miles Mason, Sr. and published by the ABA Family Law Section.  This updated edition of one the ABA’s most popular resources explains the practice of forensic accounting and business valuation and how to apply it in family law cases. It provides a practice-focused introduction to the core financial concepts in divorce, such as asset identification, classification, and valuation, income determination, expenses, and more.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Tracy Coenen:             How can an expert help you in litigating a case?

Miles Mason:              Oh, they’re going to help me tremendously. I mean it first starts with discovery. After a lawsuit is filed, complaint answers been made, maybe some initial subpoenas, most parties will issue to the other party a set of interrogatories, which is a set of questions that must be answered under oath, and a request for production of documents. Right off the bat, if I can have a forensic accountant help me read the financial documents, interpret them for me, maybe help determine some strategy, what additional documents are needed, that’s great. I’m also looking possibly for the forensic accountant to help me make sure I’ve got all the documents. I mean, because as we know, there’s a lot of documents that go with the tax return. You’ve got attachments, sub schedules, schedules that get sent with the returns, schedules that are kept to support the return. A typical lawyer doesn’t necessarily understand all that. Plus, I may want a forensic accountant to help develop questions for depositions and provide other litigation support.

Thank you to Tracy Coenen, CPA, CFF for inviting me to join her in this video series. Tracy is a nationally recognized forensic accountant practicing in Milwaukee and Chicago.