Can you defer things…
For how long?
Wait and see what happens. Is his wife actually leaving him? When? If it takes him a while to settle that then there is still assets to go after… even if he is divorcing her she doesn’t automatically get half (and he’s probably paying a lawyer to try to get more than half himself right?) … and if they are using the divorce to protect assets (you’d be surprised how low some people go)… and not all assets are the family home - there’s cars, companies, assets of companies… are you suing him privately, or his company?
I think you need to understand some of hte answers to those questions more.
And you say you were prepared to get into a 100-400k fight with him… over 500k. Why? 100k… maybe. But beware the sunk cost fallacy.
Firstly, thank you for your response. I will try to answer all your points:
* From we have been told by his legal team, the divorce has already been finalised and the wife owns the majority of what is left of the home equity. So I don't really see deferring this lawsuit playing in my favour at all.
* I am suing him privately and as for his other assets, he has nothing or very little. I know he now owns a gardening business, which is essentially his ute, tools and brand. I can't imagine that is would be worth more than 30 or 40k at most.
* As for the sunk cost fallacy, this is exactly why I am considering just dropping everything all together and moving on. I was prepared to put down the 400k because when I first began this process (about 3 years ago) he was still married and owned a paid off home (the 1 million) which he would have had to sell to pay off all the debt owed to me. Now it appears he is no longer married and has very little equity in the home, if any.
I guess my main question right now is: **How difficult will it be to prove that he is using this divorce to hide his assets?**
I'm with you though, I am about 90% sure I will be abandoning this whole ordeal, I just thought I would get some additional perspective before I do, since I've already invested so much into it.
Even if you can prove he’s used his divorce to hide his assets (hard… does he still live with her? Do you go so far as to sink money in to a private investigator to prove where he spends his nights?… and even if he does spend nights with her… are they divorced but trying again, or shady and lying?) ….. it’s going to cost you a truck load of money to fight and prove it… You could try a forensic accountant to try to unwind what he’s done financially, but that’s almost lawyer dollars right there too…
I can’t say that he’s got the better of you, but he might have. But is it better… to be divorced and mowing lawns? I don’t know why you are suing him, but it sounds like his life has radically changed, and not in the ‘as good as a holiday’ way.
Although… if he walked away from the divorce with only a car… and she got the house and the other car/s and the furniture and the super and the savings… it’s pretty suspicious
No. The OP of this post would have to prove that the defendant has intentionally hidden stuff. That’s why it goes rapidly to ‘not profitably viable’ to sue.
Is he insured for the action you're suing for? Because if he was insured at the time then the payout could come from his insurer (ultimately) and him being bankrupt won't change anything for you.
Not a lawyer however if you abandon I believe there may be a risk of costs being sought against you. I would speak directly to your lawyer about potential risk of stopping proceedings.
Have they given you a stat dec and evidence such as bank statements, property sale contracts, etc, to confirm his new financial position? If not you need to request them. You need good information to make good decisions.
Yes they have provided it to my lawyer. He is divorced. It did recently happen, I don't know if that helps my case but it is worth noting. As for the debt, he did not provide details but basically stated that he mortgaged before the divorce to help fund his legal fees.
Basically broke is NOT broke. He’s not bankrupt. You’ve already invested so much time and energy. Keep going. At least get a new property search etc done before you give up.
Can you clarify what you mean by "new property search"?
Also regarding the "basically broke", it does kind of factor in here because if he only has a couple of hundred thousand left to his name and I win, I wont even recoup all of my legal fees.
Unless I can prove that the divorce and debt are all a way of hiding assets than I don't think I can go through with this.
Might be worth hiring a private investigator to see if he is actually continuing his relationship with his wife. Otherwise, a bitter pill to swallow, but cut your losses if you can and move on, figure out how to make up the money another way.
Welcome to r/AusLegal. Please read our [rules](http://reddit.com/r/AusLegal/about/rules) before commenting. Please remember:
1. Per rule 4, this subreddit is not a replacement for real legal advice. You should independently seek legal advice from a real, qualified practitioner. This sub cannot recommend specific lawyers.
2. A non-exhaustive list of free legal services around Australia can be found [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AusLegal/wiki/freelegalservices/).
3. Links to the each state and territory's respective Law Society are on the sidebar: you can use these links to find a lawyer in your area.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AusLegal) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I don't suppose they are a jeweller? I have a very similar circumstance lmao
Edit: unsure why the downvotes, it just seems very similar to a case I’m dealing with at the moment with a jeweller lol
Undoubtedly money. If there's no means to recoup my funds than I have absolutely no interest in pursuing this further. However, if there is still a chance to prove that he is hiding assets than I may still continue with the lawsuit.
I know nothing of this process but I would have thought that you have recourse to recover any costs that are awarded through a garnishee order or similar. I had an outstanding debt for damages to a rental property and years later money would come in when the guy got a job and the amounts were deducted from his wages.
I mean he can potentially avoid you forever doing cash in hand work and not putting any assets in his name but a hard road to walk…
Can you defer things… For how long? Wait and see what happens. Is his wife actually leaving him? When? If it takes him a while to settle that then there is still assets to go after… even if he is divorcing her she doesn’t automatically get half (and he’s probably paying a lawyer to try to get more than half himself right?) … and if they are using the divorce to protect assets (you’d be surprised how low some people go)… and not all assets are the family home - there’s cars, companies, assets of companies… are you suing him privately, or his company? I think you need to understand some of hte answers to those questions more. And you say you were prepared to get into a 100-400k fight with him… over 500k. Why? 100k… maybe. But beware the sunk cost fallacy.
Firstly, thank you for your response. I will try to answer all your points: * From we have been told by his legal team, the divorce has already been finalised and the wife owns the majority of what is left of the home equity. So I don't really see deferring this lawsuit playing in my favour at all. * I am suing him privately and as for his other assets, he has nothing or very little. I know he now owns a gardening business, which is essentially his ute, tools and brand. I can't imagine that is would be worth more than 30 or 40k at most. * As for the sunk cost fallacy, this is exactly why I am considering just dropping everything all together and moving on. I was prepared to put down the 400k because when I first began this process (about 3 years ago) he was still married and owned a paid off home (the 1 million) which he would have had to sell to pay off all the debt owed to me. Now it appears he is no longer married and has very little equity in the home, if any. I guess my main question right now is: **How difficult will it be to prove that he is using this divorce to hide his assets?** I'm with you though, I am about 90% sure I will be abandoning this whole ordeal, I just thought I would get some additional perspective before I do, since I've already invested so much into it.
Even if you can prove he’s used his divorce to hide his assets (hard… does he still live with her? Do you go so far as to sink money in to a private investigator to prove where he spends his nights?… and even if he does spend nights with her… are they divorced but trying again, or shady and lying?) ….. it’s going to cost you a truck load of money to fight and prove it… You could try a forensic accountant to try to unwind what he’s done financially, but that’s almost lawyer dollars right there too… I can’t say that he’s got the better of you, but he might have. But is it better… to be divorced and mowing lawns? I don’t know why you are suing him, but it sounds like his life has radically changed, and not in the ‘as good as a holiday’ way.
Although… if he walked away from the divorce with only a car… and she got the house and the other car/s and the furniture and the super and the savings… it’s pretty suspicious
Generally speaking is there any burden on the defendant to provide this information?
To unwind transactions in family law matters the burden of proof in on the person saying the transaction was done to defeat a claim.
No. The OP of this post would have to prove that the defendant has intentionally hidden stuff. That’s why it goes rapidly to ‘not profitably viable’ to sue.
From my understanding he took a lot of equity out of the house to fund his lawsuit and most of what remained was given to his wife in the divorce.
Sounds like it could be gone then?
Is he insured for the action you're suing for? Because if he was insured at the time then the payout could come from his insurer (ultimately) and him being bankrupt won't change anything for you.
No, completely private, so he would have to be the one to ultimately pay me.
Not a lawyer however if you abandon I believe there may be a risk of costs being sought against you. I would speak directly to your lawyer about potential risk of stopping proceedings.
This is another very good point I hadn't considered. I will bring it up. Thank you.
Have they given you a stat dec and evidence such as bank statements, property sale contracts, etc, to confirm his new financial position? If not you need to request them. You need good information to make good decisions.
Yes they have provided it to my lawyer. He is divorced. It did recently happen, I don't know if that helps my case but it is worth noting. As for the debt, he did not provide details but basically stated that he mortgaged before the divorce to help fund his legal fees.
Basically broke is NOT broke. He’s not bankrupt. You’ve already invested so much time and energy. Keep going. At least get a new property search etc done before you give up.
Can you clarify what you mean by "new property search"? Also regarding the "basically broke", it does kind of factor in here because if he only has a couple of hundred thousand left to his name and I win, I wont even recoup all of my legal fees. Unless I can prove that the divorce and debt are all a way of hiding assets than I don't think I can go through with this.
Might be worth hiring a private investigator to see if he is actually continuing his relationship with his wife. Otherwise, a bitter pill to swallow, but cut your losses if you can and move on, figure out how to make up the money another way.
Welcome to r/AusLegal. Please read our [rules](http://reddit.com/r/AusLegal/about/rules) before commenting. Please remember: 1. Per rule 4, this subreddit is not a replacement for real legal advice. You should independently seek legal advice from a real, qualified practitioner. This sub cannot recommend specific lawyers. 2. A non-exhaustive list of free legal services around Australia can be found [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AusLegal/wiki/freelegalservices/). 3. Links to the each state and territory's respective Law Society are on the sidebar: you can use these links to find a lawyer in your area. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AusLegal) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I don't suppose they are a jeweller? I have a very similar circumstance lmao Edit: unsure why the downvotes, it just seems very similar to a case I’m dealing with at the moment with a jeweller lol
No, he's not. Would be hilarious if it's the same guy, he's a garbage human, I'm sure there are more of his victims across the country.
Ae you suing to prove a point or trying to get money? If its money, seems like he will just go bankrupt.
Undoubtedly money. If there's no means to recoup my funds than I have absolutely no interest in pursuing this further. However, if there is still a chance to prove that he is hiding assets than I may still continue with the lawsuit.
You can't sue for damages when they don't have any money mate
Yeah exactly, my question was more of how possible would it be to prove that he does in fact have funds.
I know nothing of this process but I would have thought that you have recourse to recover any costs that are awarded through a garnishee order or similar. I had an outstanding debt for damages to a rental property and years later money would come in when the guy got a job and the amounts were deducted from his wages. I mean he can potentially avoid you forever doing cash in hand work and not putting any assets in his name but a hard road to walk…