Family Law: Disclosure (noun)

Written by James Frank | 17/02/17 12:47 AM

Disclosure (noun): a process whereby both parties to a family law property settlement are required to exchange all information and documentation relevant to their financial circumstances.

In family law, parties who have separated and are seeking property orders are subject to a duty of disclosure. This means that all the parties involved must reveal and exchange all information relevant to the case to everyone else involved. For example, in the wife will be required to provide the husband with all documentation relating to her personal and joint assets and liabilities (with either the husband or another third party) and the husband will be required to do the same for the wife.

This includes information recorded on paper, digital records and documents that the other party does not know about. This means no information can be withheld or hidden from the other parties. This duty extends throughout the entire course of your matter. Throughout the whole process, a party must continue to provide information as circumstances change and/or they obtain more information/documents.

This includes the party’s direct and indirect financial circumstances. Such as:

Sources of earnings, interest, income, property, etc.
Are the things above directly possessed by the party or is it given to another person/beneficiary (eg. Child)?
Is it held in a trust, company, corporations or the like?
Status of any property disposal from the year before separation or after that may influence a claim.

This duty may require you to produce, inspect, copy and list documents or answer specific questions. It also means you must not make a false or misleading statement. Failure to carry out this duty may greatly affect your success in a case, so be open to disclosure to bring about the best possible result for all parties.

If you have a family law matter, concerns about how to get a family law property settlement or questions about family law and separation in NSW and want to find out more please do not hesitate to contact us on 9688 6023 or email us at info@franklegal.com.au.

This article is provided to the reader for general information. It is not legal advice. It was written by Andrea Spencer & Emily Graham and edited by James Frank.