In most marriages one spouse handles more of the finances than the other. That is normal, and it is not a sign that anything is wrong. In a divorce, though, it means one person may know far more about where the money is than the other. When the numbers on a sworn financial affidavit do not match the way the family actually lived, a forensic accountant is often the person who finds out why. Here is what that work involves in a Florida divorce, and what the law allows the court to do when hidden money is found.
What a forensic accountant does in a divorce
A forensic accountant is an accountant who examines financial records for use in a legal dispute. In a divorce, the work usually falls into a few categories: reconstructing a spouse's real income, tracing money from one account to another, identifying assets that were not disclosed, and valuing businesses and other hard-to-price property.
The work is meant to hold up in court. That means documenting where every number comes from, explaining the method in plain terms, and being prepared to testify at a deposition or a hearing. Forensic accountants are commonly retained through the attorney, so the work is organized around the legal issues in the case from the start.
Not all of the work is about finding wrongdoing. The same analysis often shows that a spouse's records are accurate, which can narrow the issues and shorten the case. Forensic accountants also work for the spouse who owns the assets, for example by tracing an inheritance or a premarital account to support a claim that it is nonmarital under Florida Statute § 61.075(6)(b).
Where the paper trail starts: mandatory disclosure
Every Florida divorce with financial issues begins with mandatory disclosure under Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285. Each spouse files a financial affidavit under oath listing income, expenses, assets, and debts, and exchanges supporting documents such as tax returns, pay stubs, and statements for bank, brokerage, retirement, and credit card accounts.
That sworn disclosure is the baseline the forensic accountant tests. When disclosure is incomplete, Rule 12.280 and the other Florida discovery rules provide the tools to get more: subpoenas to banks, brokerages, employers, and other third parties; written interrogatories answered under oath; requests for production of documents; and depositions where a spouse answers questions under oath in front of a court reporter.
A practical first step is usually to line up several years of records side by side. Changes that look small in any single year, such as a gradual rise in business expenses or a steady drop in reported bonuses, can stand out clearly when the years are compared, especially around the time the marriage began to break down.
Common ways money goes missing
Most hidden money is not buried in a secret offshore account. It usually shows up as numbers that are slightly off, spread over time. Patterns forensic accountants look for include:
- Cash receipts in a business that never reach the bank
- Personal expenses such as cars, travel, and meals paid through a business to lower reported income
- Payments to relatives, friends, or consultants who do little or no work
- Bonuses, commissions, contracts, or invoices delayed until after the divorce
- Prepaid expenses or tax overpayments that will come back as refunds later
- New accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, or accounts outside the United States
- Loans to relatives or business partners that are quietly expected to be repaid after the case
The methods: how the numbers are tested
Any one of those patterns can have an innocent explanation, which is why the accountant's job is to document, not assume. Several established methods help separate the two:
- Lifestyle analysis: comparing what the household actually spent on housing, travel, schooling, and everything else against the income a spouse reports
- Bank deposits analysis: totaling deposits across all accounts and subtracting transfers and loans to see whether income is higher than reported
- Net worth analysis: measuring how a spouse's net worth changed over time, plus what was spent, and comparing that against reported income
- Tracing: following specific funds from their source through each account they passed through, both to locate assets and to test claims that money is nonmarital
- Document cross-checks: tax return schedules that reveal interest from unlisted accounts or interests in other entities, loan applications and personal financial statements given to lenders, and insurance schedules listing jewelry, art, or vehicles
Looking inside a closely held business
When a spouse owns or controls a business, the business records are often where the real story is. A forensic accountant may review general ledgers, payroll records, merchant processing reports, and related-party transactions, and look at how revenue and expenses moved before and after the case began. A sudden slowdown in collections, an unusual write-off, or a new employee with no clear role is the kind of change that gets a closer look.
The same work affects support, not only property division. Florida Statute § 61.08(3) directs the court to consider each party's financial resources, including income generated from both nonmarital and marital assets, when deciding alimony. Child support under Florida Statute § 61.30 also depends on income. When a business owner's reported income is lower than the business actually supports, a careful reconstruction of that income can matter as much as the business valuation itself.
What happens when hidden money is found
Florida law gives the court tools to respond. Florida Statute § 61.075(1)(i) lets the court consider the intentional dissipation, waste, depletion, or destruction of marital assets after the petition is filed or within 2 years before it was filed, and that can justify an unequal distribution. In practice, money a spouse moved or spent can be charged against that spouse's share of the marital estate.
There are other consequences as well. A financial affidavit is signed under oath, and a spouse caught leaving out accounts or understating income loses credibility on every other issue in the case. Florida Statute § 61.16 allows the court to order one spouse to contribute to the other's attorney's fees, suit money, and costs based on need and ability to pay, which can help a spouse who needs a forensic accountant but does not control the family's money.
Cost, timing, and when it makes sense
Forensic accounting takes time and is billed accordingly, so the scope should fit the case. Not every divorce needs a full investigation. A targeted review of a few years of records may be enough to show whether a fuller analysis is worth the cost. The work is generally more effective when it starts early, while records are easier to obtain and before money has more time to move.
Reyes Miller Law Group handles divorces involving businesses, investments, and complex finances from offices in Coral Gables and Boca Raton, and works with forensic accountants when a case calls for one. A free consultation is available to discuss whether your situation does.
Questions about your own case?
Yvette B. Reyes, Esq. offers a free first consultation, in English or Spanish, for families in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Orange, Hillsborough and Leon counties.
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This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Florida law changes, and every case turns on its own facts. Full disclaimer.
