When you go through a divorce, you each must file an Income and Expense Declaration to ask for child support or alimony. The declaration is a legal document and must include truthful and accurate information. If one of you lie about your expenses and income, it is a significant offence.
If you believe your spouse is not telling the truth about his or her income and expenses for the purpose of paying you less money, you need to know the following.
What Information Is on an Income and Declaration Form?
You must provide pertinent information to each of your expenses and income. This includes your employment information, your education level, your tax information, and investment income. You must also disclose your liquid assets, such as checking and savings accounts, stocks, and bonds.
You may also have to disclose the names of people in your household, no matter if they contribute financially. You should include the amount of your monthly expenses, and debt payments. You also need to list the number of children you have, the amount of their health expenses, and any hardships you have.
What Are the Reasons for Lying on a Declaration?
Your spouse can have a variety of reasons for not telling the truth on an Income and Expense Declaration form. He or she may try to pay you less alimony or child support, or get out of the payments altogether. If your spouse is the recipient of the alimony or child support, he or she may lie on the declaration with the purpose of receiving more money from you.
What Constitutes Lying on a Declaration?
Lying on a declaration can be more than not including expense and income information on the form. If you believe your spouse did not include all the relevant information on the declaration, this is lying by omission.
If a space is left blank on the form, your spouse may think you will not notice. He or she may also fail to include the necessary documentation for income and expense verification purposes, such as tax returns or check stubs.
How Is Dishonesty Possible?
One way many people get away with dishonesty on a declaration form is through failure to disclose undocumented income. This includes working at a job for cash payments, extra work as an independent contractor, and other projects. If this is the case, you may have a hard time proving your former spouse has been dishonest on the paperwork.
How Can You Prove Your Former Spouse Is Not Telling the Truth?
You likely cannot take on the investigation of your spouse by yourself. You need to inform your attorney you believe your spouse is not telling the truth on his or her Income and Expense Declaration form.
Once the attorney brings your concern to the attention of the court, your former spouse may have to go through a formal questioning process under oath to get to the bottom of the issue. The attorney may also subpoena his or her bank records, employer, and others who have the information to prove your claim.
A divorce attorney is your best option for this process. An attorney has the familiarity with this issue and the laws around it to best handle your claim. Once you find out your spouse did not provide accurate information on his or her documentation, take action right away.
If you have any questions about this topic or need an attorney to help you navigate your divorce, please contact us at Randall A. Wolff & Associates, LTD. We are happy to help you get through this difficult and complex time in your life.
