You may have heard of attorney-client privilege before. This law protects communications between attorneys and their clients so that openness and honesty are encouraged. You must take advantage of the privilege in your divorce proceedings. Continue reading to learn what information you should disclose to your attorney and how one of the experienced Hudson County family law attorneys at Greenberg & Walden, LLC can step up to this role.
What information should I disclose to my divorce attorney?
First of all, if your spouse has filed a fault divorce against you, it is important that you tell your attorney what this fault is. This is so your attorney can anticipate the arguments your spouse’s attorney may assert and prepare possible defenses against them. That is, you must disclose the following to your attorney, if applicable:
- If you had an affair.
- If you exhibited cruelty to your spouse.
- If you have abandoned your spouse for a certain length of time.
- If you have ever had issues with impotence.
- If you have ever been incarcerated.
- If you have ever been institutionalized.
In addition, you must disclose to your attorney all of the assets that are in your possession. This is regardless of whether they are high-net or low-net separate property or marital property. This is because they will likely be uncovered during the discovery process anyway. What’s worse is if your spouse is suspicious and hires a forensic accountant to investigate you. And if a forensic accountant discovers that you have been hiding assets, your attorney can do very little to protect you from the repercussions. That is, you may be investigated by the IRS, accused of committing perjury, held in contempt of court, and much more.
What else should I disclose?
Overall, you should be sharing any and all information you find relevant to your divorce case with your attorney. Additional examples are as follows:
- You must disclose if you do not really want to go through with the divorce.
- You must disclose if you have fault grounds of your own against your spouse.
- You must disclose if you have signed a prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement.
- You must disclose if either you or your spouse are not a United States citizen.
At the end of the day, your attorney is on your side and committed to working in your best interest. So there is nothing that you can say that will change this fact. For more information on what a divorce attorney can do for you, reach out to Greenberg & Walden, LLC today. We offer free initial consultations, so there should be no hesitation in picking up the phone and giving us a call. We look forward to collaborating with you.
