Company + Family Law case

[Black_Adder]

Assume: Facts are correct.
A and B - married - owned C ltd 50% each. Marital difficulties.
A success in pharm business as a contractor - takes C Ltd contract without agreement to D Ltd which A owned and controlled.
B challenges A - D Ltd is then a 'subsidiary' of C Ltd.
A then sets up another company E Ltd and on it goes.
B resigns as Company Director of C Ltd on basis of shenanigans remains as shareholder.
A liquidates C, D and E over period of time.
A 'loses' job close to separation proceedings and results in lower maintenance to B
A never pays B arrears.
A then magically appears to be employee of F ltd 'owned' by his accountant,
Produces P60 to Court but not the Contract with the pharm -which he always has negotiated directly.
Gets his Solicitor to deny that he has any beneficial interest in F Ltd.

Q - do the Courts understand Company Law abuse in Family situations? Or is all this a bit complex?

 

[44brendan]

Q - do the Courts understand Company Law abuse in Family situations? Or is all this a bit complex?

Went well over my head. I read the post 3 times and each time got lost between the companies and the individuals. Looks like you might need a forensic accountant to sort out the intricacies of the issues.

 

[Jim Stafford]

Typically what happens in such cases is that B would , as 44brendan suggests, retain an expert witness to go through the financial documents. A good expert witness should be able to explain to the judge what has happened etc Judges get to understand such cases with the assistance of expert witnesses. However, if one spouse is prepared to perjure themselves, then obviously it gets more difficult.

Jim Stafford

 

[Branz]

If the money is worth chasing then a good forensic accountant will yield results: the discovery process should take in the negotiations re the pharma contract, with perhaps correspondence directly with the pharma which should get A's attention.
My experience with forensic accountants is that usually it concentrates the mind of the opposing party.
The accountant, or others, owning the company is a fairly standard, but quite unsophisticated, avoidance method.
There will be a side letter somewhere setting out the ultimate ownership because if the accountant snuffs it, the ownership has to have a mechanism to revert.

 

[Black_Adder]

Many thanks for contributions.
There are not millions here - its just some men just do not want their wives to get anything and its as if all this is her fault.

Any fair minded person would disclose and I am just concerned with these type of cases where judges do not understand it.

 

[Thirsty]

Judges aren't stupid; but at the same time if you want to win your case you need to make it as clear cut as possible. Hire professionals.