What if My Spouse Is Hiding Assets in a British Columbia Separation?
This answer covers the law of British Columbia.
You have tools if you suspect hidden assets. A court can order a party to disclose information at any stage of a proceeding, and the information can be used only to resolve the family law dispute. If you are claiming property or debt division, you must file a financial statement in Form F8 along with income documents such as tax returns for the three most recent years.
If someone gives incomplete, false or misleading information or does not follow a disclosure order, the court may order disclosure, draw an adverse inference, require security, or order payment of expenses. It may also order an amount up to $5,000 to a party or impose a fine up to $5,000. The court may divide unequally only if an equal division would be significantly unfair, and one factor it weighs is a spouse disposing of or converting property other than in good faith.
If an agreement was signed without full disclosure, it can be set aside on grounds such as non-disclosure. How a hidden asset affects the cost of resolving the dispute depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer. Suspicion alone is not proof, so gather what records you can and talk with a lawyer about next steps.
Key takeaways
- A court can order a party to disclose information at any stage of a proceeding.
- A spouse claiming property or debt division files a financial statement in Form F8 with income documents such as three years of tax returns.
- If a spouse gives false or incomplete information, the court can draw an adverse inference, order up to $5,000 to a party or impose a fine up to $5,000.
- A court may divide unequally only if an equal division would be significantly unfair, which it will not find in most cases, and one factor is a spouse substantially reducing property value or disposing of property other than in good faith.