Forensic Accountants in Divorce

In the context of divorce, a forensic accountant is used to establish the value of a business as part of the marital or "community" property to be divided. They gather the business accounting records and lists of assets, debts, and other information and estimate what the business would likely bring were it to be sold. Then the court can establish the division of the community property and debt more accurately.

In addition to dealing with business matters, a forensic accountant can trace other funds if there are issues of waste or concerns about hidden money. The attorney's office must still go over the documents to some degree, to identify accounts involved and have a basic understanding of the information. Depending on how many documents are involved, this can take hours. Some are faster than others.