The more complex a divorce is, the more likely there will be experts utilized to provide information to the case. These professionals are often called in by one side to help sway the court’s decisions on various elements. Attorneys can rely on an expert to help prove their client’s parenting skills, disprove the other’s parenting abilities, reveal hidden bank accounts, or prove through bank statements that the other spouse was spending marital money on an affair. Below we outline a few different types of family law experts that could play a role in your own divorce case.

Child Psychologist or Child Expert

A child expert is a psychologist who meets with parents, children, and other family members and relevant parties in order to make recommendations on a parenting plan and custody.

Forensic Accountant

Much of divorce is about asset division, alimony, and child support. A forensic accountant may be called in to assess tax issues, provide insight into a spouse’s standard of living, place value on a business, or provide information about credit card statements or cash-flow.

It goes without saying that there is a lot at stake when a couple with a large number of assets gets divorced, and the sheer scope of the property involved can make these cases daunting. Many couples have assets spread across numerous types of accounts and investments across the country. Sometimes even international assets are involved. Add in the fact that in many cases one spouse attempts to hide or devalue assets to avoid giving up property in the divorce, and you have a recipe for a case that can drag on for years. However, many clients are now finding that high asset divorce cases can be simplified through forensic accounting.

What Is Forensic Accounting?

A forensic accountant is a financial professional who has investigative and auditing abilities that go far beyond that of an average accountant who may help prepare your income taxes. Similar to how a forensic scientist helps police put together what happened at a crime scene, a forensic accountant can help a divorce attorney reconstruct where assets came from, where they have been hidden, and how they have been devalued.