DIVORCE LITIGATION SETTLEMENT SUPPORT SERVICES
Serving Central Florida.
 The incidence of divorce in the United States continues to grow at an alarming rate. Today two in three marriages end in divorce. More and more, attorneys are approached to provide solutions in such disputes. In this information age, the attorney finds themselves confronted with an explosion of financial data which must be reviewed, assembled, and presented in a clear and concise manner for effective client advocacy. The attorney can be overwhelmed with information, some of which is highly technical in nature. He or she may feel it necessary to call on other professionals for assistance in some areas for which he has little time or background.
CPAs are well suited to provide litigation support in areas of taxation and finance. At Edward J Serra, CPA, we possess years of experience in supporting divorce attorneys in managing their cases. Our involvement starts early with an initial conference with the attorney.
The engagement is formalized with an agreement between the attorney's firm and us. The client also signs that agreement. We assist the attorney by assembling, with the client, information that supports the preparation of disclosures such as the financial affidavit and interrogatories. We can prepare the child support guideline calculations, assemble production, prepare pension valuations and analyses, and equitable distribution schedules. Along the way, we offer strategies and tax advice, which are helpful in minimizing the tax consequences of the settlement.
We provide important backup to the attorney in settlement conferences and during mediation. At trial, we serve as expert witnesses.
No matter what his level of experience, the attorney's capabilities are enhanced with additional technical expertise in the financial and tax areas. Our firm is responsive and eager to assist the attorney by performing these functions with the highest degree of efficiency.
Our firm specializes in providing marriage dissolution & matrimonial litigation support accounting services. We take pride in providing quality, reliable, dependable and timely services to our clients. Our services cover the entire area of family law litigation support, including discovering hidden assets, valuing assets, and the distribution of assets. In this process we focus on forensic accounting techniques to uncover the hidden assets, the over stated expenses, valuation of marital assets including closely held business and stock options, the tax consequences of divorce and distribution of assets. These services generally include the following:
Valuation of business interests
Consultation services
Analyzing personal and business tax returns
Reviewing bank statements and brokerage accounts
Assisting in depositions
Tracing assets
Searching for hidden assets
Searching for over stated expenses
Searching for personal expenses charged to the business being valued
Determining income available for support
Performing cost of living analysis
Assist in the preparation of the Statement of Net Worth
 Marital Dissolution cases require the professional consultant to have an understanding of many issues including but not limited to the standard of value and the identification and classification of property in divorce cases, local court rules, and court cases. The business valuator or appraiser must also have an understanding of various matters such as, the meaning of the valuation date, reasonable compensation, and a thorough understanding of taxes and how they could affect the financial statements and financial information being reviewed.
It is a well accepted fact that most family law cases settle before having to go all the way to trial. Before trial, mediation is an option to settle the issues of the parties and where the parties can avoid the unknown decision of the court by coming to their own acceptable agreement. Therefore as a forensic accountant, I must be well prepared so that my clients know the financial facts and circumstances of the case so that they have the sound basis for negotiations. Some of the areas where my forensic accounting services are needed would be:
Alimony needs and Ability to Pay Calculations
Equitable Distribution Schedules and Calculations
Valuation of Business Interests
Financial Affidavits
Child Support Calculations
Identification and Analysis of any Non-Marital Assets Understatement of Income and Concealed Assets
In many circumstances a family owned business will be an issue for valuation for equitable distribution purposes. Many of these businesses will not have any value over the value of the "net assets" involved if the nature of the business is that of the owner's personal service or what is referred to as "personal goodwill". However, the owner might be earning more than is being reported which could be a significant factor in determining alimony or child support. There could be an understatement of income by not reporting cash transactions, deducting personal expenses as business expenses and a whole assortment of other improper transactions to understate income and conceal assets.
The possibility of having to go to trial is always present. Therefore, the forensic accountant must always anticipate and plan for being able to have his work product admitted and supportable for the trial court. My responsibility is to ensure that proper accounting documentation has been performed. As your negotiations, disputes or trials near, you will need a forensic accountant who knows how to support his opinions, examinations and accounting methods with expert analysis, descriptions, proper back-up documentation and expert testimony. Contact me at 352-794-3879 or ed@edserra.com
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