Top Vancouver forensic audit lawyer Lorne MacLean, Q.C., just obtained another gratifying win for his family law client involving a Vancouver forensic audit to discover hidden family income and family assets. He leads the 20 lawyer Vancouver family property lawyer and Vancouver forensic audit lawyer team at MacLean Law which has 4 offices located across BC to assist our clients in Fort St John, Kelowna, Surrey and Vancouver, BC.
Forensic audits of family law property and income are extremely rare but they may be obtained if you hire an experienced Vancouver forensic audit lawyer like Lorne N. MacLean, Q.C. This exceedingly rare, yet aggressive, approach occurs when a top family lawyer like Lorne N. MacLean, QC is in charge of your family law file.
Lorne MacLean, Q.C. our founder and lead Vancouver forensic audit lawyer has a passion and talent for finding hidden income and assets to do justice in family law cases in BC. Lorne MacLean, Q.C. leads BC’s largest and most experienced high net worth and complex family valuation and family property division law department. Mr. MacLean’s recent success for our BC family law client shows that misleading the court about family income and family assets will not be tolerated. Hiring a top Vancouver forensic audit lawyer such as Lorne N MacLean QC can pay big dividends when one party refuses to play fair.
Lorne MacLean, Q.C. heads our wealthy Mandarin speaking and high net worth South Asian family lawyer team across BC. Lorne MacLean, Q.C. is highly skilled at ferreting out hidden income and assets and taking a cutting edge approach to fairly divide income and assets. Lorne MacLean, Q.C. has been one of only a very few lawyers to obtain a forensic accounting in a family income and property case and one of a handful of lawyers to obtain the exceedingly rare Anton Pillar Order in a family law context. His aggressive approach to finding improperly secreted income and property pays great dividends for his clients.
Our top Vancouver family lawyers know that non-disclosure of family assets is the cancer of matrimonial litigation, often causing a discouraged spouse to give up and walk away with less than what is fair. Our skilled BC family lawyers have expertise in helping our clients find assets and income that their ex-spouses are hiding overseas and locally, to ensure that our clients receive a fair division of property.
In the recent case of Fan v. Zhang, 2015 BCSC 2352, Lorne MacLean, Q.C., obtained orders for child support and spousal support on the behalf of the recipient wife. The wife had been “left in a significantly disadvantaged position by the separation agreement” that she signed when the parties separated.
The court found that the husband, the sole owner of a company operating a real estate business, had “failed to provide full and frank financial disclosure and further [has], likely deliberately, engaged in a practice of failing to report income and assets.” The court ordered a forensic audit of the husband’s worldwide income and financial assets. There husband was ordered to advance $50,000 for this purpose.
The court also imputed income on the husband for his lack of financial disclosure, pursuant to sections 18 and 19 of the Child Support Guidelines. The court struck portions of the husband’s counterclaim, including his claim for defamation as being “vexatious in the extreme”, and struck the husband’s claim for intentional infliction of mental suffering, which has “no place in family law proceedings”.
Our lawyers prepared a detailed analysis of the husband’s “glaring inconsistencies” in his financial disclosure, supporting the wife’s argument that the husband was not disclosing significant assets and income in both Canada and overseas in China. Our Vancouver Asian asset protection and wealth preservation department expertly analyzes and ferrets out incongruences and hidden assets in family law cases.
Lorne MacLean, Q.C.’s Key Take Away Points:
- The court will not stand for financial non-disclosure, and has several means to penalize a party for non-disclosure, including imputing income and drawing an adverse inference about income and assets.
- A separation agreement will not provide adequate protection for parties if it is unfair and there was insufficient financial disclosure. The court found, at paragraphs 17 to 19:
[17] The law is well established that a court is not bound by any agreement between the parties when it exercises a statutory power to award support and where the agreement is not in substantial compliance with the objectives of the Divorce Act, R.S.C.1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.), Hyman v. Hyman, 1929 AC 601, a decision of the House of Lords, Miglin v. Miglin, 2003 SCC 24, L.M.P. v. L.S., 2011 SCC 64 at para. 41.
[18] I accept that the court should be slow to award interim support in the face of a separation agreement that provides for support payments to the contrary. If the separation agreement is set aside at trial, the court can award retroactive support, Hall v. Sabri, 2011 ONSC 5495.
[19] However, in this case, the evidence is overwhelming that the respondent Mr. Zhang has failed to disclose his true financial wherewithal. In the circumstances, I am satisfied that the terms of the separation agreement regarding the payment of child and spousal support each in the amount of $1,000 per month should be varied, at least on an interim basis…
3. When drafting family law proceedings, care must be taken to ensure that particulars are pled, and when pleading “non-family” related relief, parties must be very careful to ensure that claims are not vexatious or improper. Family law proceedings are often litigious and acrimonious, and there is no place for unnecessary and unfounded allegations that will only increase the hostility between the parties without resolving the family law issues.
Our top rated family law lawyers recognize the difficulties faced by spouses who have signed unfair separation agreements or who have ex-spouses with significant overseas and hidden assets. Our robust Vancouver forensic audit lawyer team will help you ensure no income or assets are left on the table.
Contact Lorne MacLean, Q.C. direct at 604 697 2800 or our Asian Wealth Preservation and Asset Protection group today. Our Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking family law lawyers and staff are ready to assist you. Call our Mandarin and Cantonese rapid response line at 604 682 6466 to speak to a top Vancouver forensic audit lawyer.
You can also contact the Vancouver or Surrey offices directly, request a consultation or call us toll free at 1 877 602 9900.
