KW Economics prepares fraud and tracing analysis for divorce and marital dissolution matters venued in West Virginia: the income, valuation, and tracing questions the matter raises, the records that answer them, and a presentation built to the way West Virginia courts decide them. Either party.
In a divorce the tracing work follows separate property contributions and marital funds through accounts and assets, and where one spouse controls a business, examines whether income has been diverted or understated. The economist follows each contribution from its source through every account and transaction to its current holding, documents each step, and identifies transfers to third parties, unusual withdrawals, and personal expenses run through a business. Where the records run out, the report states the point at which tracing stopped rather than assuming a result.
Forensic accounting for embezzlement, misappropriation, and financial statement irregularities. The work reconstructs the flow of funds through bank, ledger, and payment records, traces diverted assets to where they came to rest, quantifies the loss for each scheme identified, and documents the evidence trail so it can support a civil claim, an insurance recovery, or a referral to authorities.
The business valuation is usually the largest and most contested figure in the marital estate, and the valuation date, the standard of value, the treatment of personal and enterprise goodwill, and the normalization of owner compensation each move it materially. Income available for support for a self-employed spouse can differ substantially from the reported figure once personal expenses paid by the business and cash flow retained in it are considered, and the owner compensation adjustment has to be carried consistently into the valuation and the income determination, because the same stream of earnings appears in both. Tracing outcomes depend on the completeness of the account records and on how the governing framework, whether equitable distribution or community property, treats commingled funds and the appreciation of separate assets during the marriage.
West Virginia trial judges act as gatekeepers for expert testimony in civil cases and ask whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts. A financial analysis for a divorce meets that inquiry by listing each normalization adjustment, valuation input, and tracing step with the record behind it.
Highest court: Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Court system: courtswv.gov.
Federal venues: Northern District of West Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia.
Whether West Virginia divides marital property equitably or as community property, which valuation date applies, how income available for support is defined, and how the goodwill of a professional practice is treated are questions of law that counsel confirms; the report presents each finding so it can be applied under either party's position.
We issue the final report and provide deposition and trial testimony, support for insurance or restitution claims, and rebuttal of opposing accounting analyses.
In a divorce the tracing work follows separate property contributions and marital funds through accounts and assets, and where one spouse controls a business, examines whether income has been diverted or understated. The economist follows each contribution from its source through every account and transaction to its current holding, documents each step, and identifies transfers to third parties, unusual withdrawals, and personal expenses run through a business. Where the records run out, the report states the point at which tracing stopped rather than assuming a result.
West Virginia trial judges act as gatekeepers for expert testimony in civil cases and ask whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts. A financial analysis for a divorce meets that inquiry by listing each normalization adjustment, valuation input, and tracing step with the record behind it. Divorce and Marital Dissolution cases venued in West Virginia are heard in the Family Court (Domestic relations matters in each county) and the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; one in each of 55 counties; all civil and criminal matters), with final appeals to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the Northern District of West Virginia and Southern District of West Virginia.
Whether West Virginia divides marital property equitably or as community property, which valuation date applies, how income available for support is defined, and how the goodwill of a professional practice is treated are questions of law that counsel confirms; the report presents each finding so it can be applied under either party's position. The report lists each normalization adjustment, valuation input, and tracing step with its source and shows the result under each spouse's position, so counsel can apply the West Virginia rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Fraud & Tracing or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.