In general, in any divorce procedure and regardless of the marital regime, divorce has significant personal and financial consequences.

If, since the divorce reform of 2004, the awarding of compensatory allowance is possible in any divorce case, there can be issues with the reality of the assets of one spouse.

According to Article 270 of the French Civil Code, divorce ends the support duty between spouses.

One spouse may be required to pay the other an allowance intended to offset, as far as possible, the disparity in their respective living conditions, brought by the dissolution of the marriage. The compensatory allowance takes the form of a certain amount of money wich is determined by the judge.

In the context of a divorce, spouses are sometimes tempted to hide all or part of their income to alter the amount of a financial obligation (compensatory allowance, duty of support, contribution to the maintenance and education of children) because the judge considers their living standards and incomes in their calculation.

Our intervention

The family court judge ruling only on the evidence presented to them and, being unable to investigate independently, may find it challenging to discern the truth.

The judge, therefore, is not meant to act as a private investigator to assess the disparity between the spouses.

Cabinet Arnault International offers its assistance in gathering evidence to enlighten the magistrate.

Then, the judge will have conclusive elements allowing him to evaluate the situation of the parties.

In divorce cases, the work of a private investigator focuses on two main aspects:

    1. Obtaining interim measures

      To assist the spouse in evaluating their partner’s standard of living in the context of a request for compensatory allowance, our investigators conduct rapid and efficient investigations to clarify the financial situation of the opposing party for the magistrate.

      In this context, many spouses use various pretexts to justify the financial difficulties they face or declare a change in circumstances (loss of their job, reduction in income or salary, business difficulties, etc.).

    2. Evaluating the Spouses’ Assets

      To help one of the spouses to verify whether their partner’s assets are not being hidden, our investigators carry out targeted and thorough investigations to uncover the truth.

      Many spouses optimize their tax situation using sophisticated legal structures in France or abroad, benefit from indirect interests in companies or associated current accounts.

      These complex situations require the intervention of specialists. Cabinet Arnault International’s teams act on your behalf, both in France and abroad, for all financial and asset-related investigations.

Service agreement

For each mission, a contract is drafted, specifying the purpose of the mission, the methodology, the financial terms, and the timeline for execution.

Lead investigator

Your case will be handled by a dedicated lead investigator who’s going to be your only contact, in charge of coordinating and managing the investigations.

Investigation report

At the conclusion of the investigations, a detailed, thorough, and precise investigation report will be drafted. It may be presented, if necessary, before the competent jurisdiction.

Example &
Practical

At the end of a procedure, the family court judge pronounced the divorce of the Martin couple.

However, Mrs. Martin appealed this decision, considering that the amount of the compensatory allowance awarded to her was undervalued regarding her husband’s assets.

Thus, Mrs. Martin sought our services to verify whether her husband had concealed part of his wealth or not.

The investigation revealed that the husband omitted to declare the purchase of a yacht as well as the acquisition of a real estate property through a company.

The investigation report submitted during proceedings allowed for the reassessment of the compensatory allowance.