Hiding money

[oystercard]

My divorce petition went to court yesterday. Taken a long time to get this far but know I am doing the right thing.

Anyway, having a serious think about money. Long back story - alcoholic husband who is no longer working, however I am and am increasingly worried about the fact that on paper I look much better off than him financially. However, this is because he has drank away his money. I pay for all household costs and looking after DD.

I would like to be able to put aside even a small amount of money each month to keep it 'safe'. Has anyone done this and if so,how? Was thinking of asking a relative or friend to let me deposit small amounts of cash in an account in their name?

Could this be traced?

[nocake]

I doubt anyone will recommend trying to hide money in this way but as long as it's not traceable in the documents you provide to the court (e.g. there aren't amounts on your bank statement that you can't account for) it's unlikely anyone will notice.

Have you spoken to a solicitor about what a reasonable financial split would be?

[mumoverseas]

oh dear, prepare to be flamed.
Could be interesting when you are swearing your Form E. The word perjury comes to mind

I'm sorry that your marriage has broken down and you are obviously worried but that does not excuse what you are suggesting

[Collaborate]

Agree with mumoverseas.

[mumblechum1]

Any solicitor worth their salt will quickly notice when you file Form E that there are either transfers to an undisclosed bank account, or unusually large cash withdrawals.

[oystercard]

Hmm..

Mumoverseas - 'what I am suggesting' is trying to protect myself and my daughter from even further damage from a man who has spent the last year drinking away much of the money I had already ensured we had saved for our future, while contributing nothing himself. I am 'suggesting' that even just being able to protect a few hundred quid would give me some comfort in the coming months as I might be able to use it buy new school uniforms etc rather than seeing it go to the off licence.

I am not talking about making vast withdrawals to offshore accounts for heaven's sake, just trying to protect what's left of my family against further damage.

[prh47bridge]

I'm sorry but I am with mumoverseash, Collaborate and mumblechum1. You may view it as trying to protect yourself but that is not how the courts would see it.

[mumoverseas]

oystercard- I appreciate what you are saying and understand you must have been through a very difficult time and are of course, as any mother would be, are worried about your daughter and her future. However, I'm just pointing out that from a legal point of view, you need to be able to complete your Form E financial statement (a form which both parties need to complete in relation to ancillary relief - financial aspects of divorce) truthfully. The document has to be sworn on oath and it is essential therefore that the contents are true. Have not completed one myself for a while but am sure there was a question about whether you have transferred any assets to another party since proceedings commenced.

I had a client once that decided not to disclose a redundancy payment of approximately 10k. After final hearing this came out and his ex took the matter back to court. His 'ommission' cost him nearer 25k.

Do you have family lawyer or are you acting in person? If you H's behaviour has been that bad, ie not contributing and essentially wasting assets then it might be an option to raise this as conduct in relation to the finances. You really need to talk to your lawyer or else consider instruction one

[mumoverseas]

ooh, xpost with prh. Now we just need babybarrister to concur and we are all in agreement (unless of course melvin is around?)

[ivykaty44]

Make sure your solicitor is there to protect you and your dd and then tell the truth.

[redcarnations]

A friend of mine was in a similar situation. She didn't 'hide' money but she did start a savings card thing with one of the supermarkets (think it was asda). She also bought M&S giftcards so that when the children needed clothes she could get what they needed.

Looking at the posts above, maybe it wasn't strictly legitimate but it was the only way she could ensure she had enough to feed and clothe the children.

Hope this helps :)

[EverSoLagom]

I don't have any legal knowledge but wouldn't it be possible to save the money in your child's own account?

[ivykaty44]

EverSo - the tax man will not be happy if you save in your dc account as you would avoid paying tax on interest and thats the bit he will not like

[sneezecakesmum]

I can totally see where you are coming from with this, but the fact remains that you would still be lying to the court if you had money salted away.
Personally I would be very tempted to find a legitimatish way to put away some rainy day money. Gift cards are a good idea. Would an accountant be able to suggest anything to you? It seems so unfair on you.

[Collaborate]

And you're worrying about nothing anyway. No need to salt it away if it's a very modest sum for school uniform FGS

[BatsInTheSnowglobe]

Oyster i feel for you, I went through a crap divorce with a similar XH, i paid for everything, he pissed his money up the wall. He even tried to claim maintenance from me at one point (and visitation right to my pet rabbit, but thats another story!). He wanted me to walk away with nothing, so at one point i considered transferring money into my mums account with the view of paying her back the money she spent putting me through university. Not sure whether that would have stood up in court had I done it though?
Luckily the solicitors managed to make him realise he was a dick and kept it out of court and we settled (after a year and a cost of 8k in solicitors fees to me!)
Hope you manage to figure out a way you can save some money for yourself.

[oystercard]

Thanks for your comments everyone, I do appreciate this area is a bit of a minefield.

I feel I should say that I am by nature an extremely honest and straight person. Everything I've said in my divorce petition is 100% true and can be evidence and I can clearly explain what happens to all the money that is spent from our accounts (which I have managed well pretty much by myself for many years as H is hopeless with money)

What has driven me to consider the course of action I posted about was the view from several solicitors that where the financial settlement is concerned, behaviour of either parties is only considered in very exceptional circumstances, and that it is the 'need' of each side that is considered. THat is what is really pissing me off - OK, I get my divorce because of his unreasonable behaviour, but we may treated the same financially despite the fact it is his own behaviour that has left him worse off than me. He may look like he needs more because I have kept some savings whereas he has chosen to drink his away.

I will be totally open through this process, however if I need to buy 3 years worth of school clothes in advance for DD, rather than letting H get half the money then I'll do it.

[tb]

It used to be the case that the interest on monies invested by the parents was considered as their income for tax purposes. So if that is still the case, it doesn't 'hide' it from the taxman. The income from monies saved in a dc's name by gp's, neighbours etc etc doesn't count as the parents'.

[oldfatandtired]

Sorry to 'bump' this old thread. I am about to start divorce proceedings against my husband (4th affair AFAIK, he's moved in with her, financial and emotional abuse, you name it . . .). I have discovered today that he has opened an offshore account into which. I believe he has squirrelled away circa 25k. Without going into too much detail I should imagine another 25k will find its way into that account in the summer. I fully admit I opened his mail! - but really, how stupid can you be to have the letter sent to the marital home? I guess I tell my solicitor - or do we wait for form E? I only saw my solicitor for the initial chat last week.

[oldfatandtired]

babybarrister thank you. I have read up about those laws. I take it that when we get to form E if he hasn't disclosed then my solicitor can challenge it? I thought this money was in a joint account (stupidly left him in charge of cash) but it isn't. Otherwise it's a cheat's charter, surely?

[Selks]

Does your daughter have a savings account in her name that you can add to? Many parents do that, to build up funds for their child for the future. That would be a legitimate way of protecting some money I reckon.