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Welcome to The OMB Law Board, the podcast where legal insights meet practical advice. Hosted by Simon Bennett, Managing Partner at OMB Solicitors, this show delves into what you can expect when engaging with OMB Solicitors. Specialising in property law and commercial law, OMB also boasts dedicated teams for estate planning, contested estates, body corporate matters, litigation, and family law.
Each episode features in-depth discussions led by experienced team leaders, some with over 20 years of expertise. You'll gain valuable knowledge on initial consultations, cost assessments, timelines, and the importance of clear communication and confidentiality in legal matters.
Join us to break down barriers and navigate your legal journey with confidence. Tune in for expert advice, client stories, and tips on how to prepare for your legal needs. The OMB Law Board is your trusted source for all things legal.
00:00:06:01 - 00:00:16:08
Unknown
Welcome back to the OMB Law Board. I'm Simon Bennett. And I've got Sarah from our family law team with me today. Looking forward to being here today. Fantastic. Sarah. Disclosure
00:00:16:10 - 00:00:20:23
Unknown
No one wants to air their dirty laundry, particularly to their ex.
00:00:21:01 - 00:00:27:22
Unknown
I don't want my ex knowing all my expenditure and the intricacies of what I've been spending money on. But unfortunately,
00:00:28:00 - 00:00:44:18
Unknown
you have to. Oh, no. No one wants to. No. Stick with us. We're going to explain to you what disclosure is and why you have to give it in a family law setting. So, Sarah, let's start with what is disclosure in the family law context?
00:00:44:20 - 00:01:09:21
Unknown
Yeah. So disclosure is it's an ongoing duty, and it's basically giving your ex all the information that they would need to make a, an informed decision, right, about what they do. And for the lawyers and the court to understand what the circumstances are. So, for example, and it applies to property and parenting, this is a common misconception is that it's just a property thing applies to parenting too.
00:01:09:22 - 00:01:32:05
Unknown
So in parenting it might be medical reports. School reports, things like that. Anything that the other person might need to make a decision about what they're doing in this case. All right, let's concentrate a little bit on the financial stuff, because I think that's where the angst comes in, right? Bank statements. Yes. I can I cross out.
00:01:32:07 - 00:01:49:01
Unknown
For example, expenditure that I may not want my partner to see that I'm spending money on. This is a big issue. So clients often are like, why do I have to show my ex what I've been spending my money on? Why can't I just show them what the balances and not show them where the money's coming and going?
00:01:49:03 - 00:02:06:09
Unknown
You know, no one wants their ex to know that they've been spending money on a dating app or at the pub or things like that, but you can't cross that out. So we often have clients try to give us things in like CSV format. And the way things are mended, you can't do that. And honestly, it just delays things.
00:02:06:10 - 00:02:30:08
Unknown
Why? Why can't I cross it out? I guess it's fake, Judy. Of of being full and frank with your disclosure, right? Being really open and honest about exactly where things were. Because if you cross things out, for example, and it was that, you were, I don't know, spending a whole lot of money on deeds and you hadn't disclosed those dates, for example.
00:02:30:09 - 00:02:51:01
Unknown
Those debts are relevant to your property settlement. And if you're crossing them out, even if they're not dates, you know, if they are something else, you could be crossing out things that are relevant that your partner needs to know to make a decision about the property. And of course, people, from time to time, like to think they can hide certain assets and links could be to the payment of those assets, etc..
00:02:51:03 - 00:02:56:08
Unknown
So I guess it's the paper trail. As you said, full and frank disclosure, it is a detailed,
00:02:56:08 - 00:03:02:06
Unknown
paper trail. And the other thing is, yeah, payments to people like money going out to people. And when
00:03:02:11 - 00:03:09:20
Unknown
when is this obligation of disclosure, when does it arise? And, you know, do I have to update it. Can you talk to us about that?
00:03:09:20 - 00:03:33:03
Unknown
Yeah. So start too soon as your, as soon as you start negotiating. But generally people don't do it until they get lawyers involved. And it's actually backdated. So you get, you generally get your bank statements for the past 12 months or if you've been separated for a couple of years, back to the separation date or even 12 months prior to separation date, and it keeps going until everything's resolved.
00:03:33:05 - 00:03:55:12
Unknown
So people often also get frustrated about this. They'll go up Avenue, all my bank statements, and then, you know, things haven't resolved in six months. And the other side's asking for updated statements. You've got to give it. Okay, here's one for you. My ex has not disclosed their financial information or not, though I'm on. Yes, that's happens all the time, unfortunately.
00:03:55:16 - 00:04:20:17
Unknown
It's an obligation on each person. So whether they have or whether they haven't, you need to comply with your disclosure because it used to be that, the courts can develop sort of law or like process, but it's actually this has been codified in legislation. So the written law that you have a duty of disclosure and if you don't comply with your duty, even if the other party doesn't, you've got your own personal consequences.
00:04:20:17 - 00:04:51:02
Unknown
You know, up to and including imprisonment. Very unlikely. But, you know, the risk is there, and there's risks about findings being made against you by the court. These are risks to you that if you do enter into a settlement, it being set aside later. So let's talk about that because to me that's really important. I've gone to all the trouble of coming to a resolution, often quite acrimonious, quite stressful, and we finally got to a result where we've got a resolved agreement.
00:04:51:04 - 00:05:09:22
Unknown
But I've been a bit sneaky, and I held off some information. That's right. If you hold off that information, there is a risk to you that in a few years time your ex finds out about that and they come back and they challenge it and you're back at square one, you've got to renegotiate. Except now you've maybe going off and started a new business.
00:05:09:22 - 00:05:27:04
Unknown
You've gone and pitched a new property, you've got new assets that have been pulled back into this negotiation with your ex. It's not it's not pretty. Okay. So we're ending up in a far worse situation by trying to be a little bit smart and not complete full and frank disclosure now my new assets are suddenly in the old matrimonial pool.
00:05:27:06 - 00:05:42:15
Unknown
That's right. And people do try to do it right because they think, oh God, I'm being so smart. I've, I've not disclosed in here since I've received or. Yeah, I've got a boat somewhere that I'm not going to tell them about. And I'm just going to, you know, get one up on them and it's not worth the risk.
00:05:42:17 - 00:06:05:11
Unknown
And Sarah, we've seen situations where even really difficult assets have been found like overseas assets. That's right, that's right. We have so many mechanisms to try and, identify assets. And people often aren't as near as smart as they are. You know, there's often you have disclosure bank statements, but you might not have said that there's a boat over here, but they might be payments to repairs on a boat or something.
00:06:05:16 - 00:06:26:09
Unknown
Those things get picked up. All the reason why, circling back to what you said earlier, I can't cross out my specific expenditure. So getting back to where we started, no one wants to do their laundry, but it kind of. We got to wash our clothes, right? You got to get your laundry done. It might be an uncomfortable process, but it's necessary.
00:06:26:09 - 00:06:48:21
Unknown
One. Honestly, I would call it one of those necessary evils. Everyone hides it without fail. But you'd be wrong for having done it. All right. And a little procedural thing. Have you got any tips for our viewers and listeners on ways to make the disclosure obligations simpler and a bit cheaper? Then, you know, it might otherwise be.
00:06:48:23 - 00:07:12:05
Unknown
Yeah. Look, sometimes people find it easier to get in contact with their bank and just get their bank to bulk download everything, for example, getting their bank statements. But also we'll send you a list of exactly what we need. So as long as you see that's what's on that list, that makes our life so much easier, rather than sending it to us in dribs and drives and also having to then follow up and go back and forth just drives up your costs.
00:07:12:07 - 00:07:31:15
Unknown
And that sounds really simple, but just labeling things as labeling bank account. And then the last four digits of your bank account number makes it so much easier for us to find. Fantastic. Well, it sounds like, disclosure is more important than we think. It might be something that's uncomfortable, but we need to get it done. That's exactly right.
00:07:31:16 - 00:07:54:14
Unknown
Just just do it. And for all of our viewers and listeners who need a hand with their family, law matters, particularly, the difficulties of disclosure, Sarah and our OMB family law team would be more than happy to assist. And if you've got comments or questions, hit the link below. Please subscribe to our channel. And, we'll do our best to get back to you, in future episodes.
00:07:54:16 - 00:07:55:21
Unknown
Thanks, Simon. Thanks, Sarah.