Hidden assets in financial remedy — disclosure tools when you suspect concealment

REVIEWED BY: Sean McNamara on 2026-08-30

If your spouse is hiding money — undeclared accounts, undervalued businesses, "loans" to relatives, cash-in-hand income — the financial remedy system has real tools to find it. Courts are experienced with concealment and increasingly penalise it. This guide sets out the disclosure arsenal and how to use it. It is general information, not legal advice.

The duty of full and frank disclosure

Both parties sign their Form E with a statement of truth: full disclosure of assets, income and liabilities
Deliberate non-disclosure is contempt of court — and it poisons the discloser's credibility for the rest of the case
The duty is continuing: if you discover an asset after disclosure, the duty applies until the case concludes

The disclosure tools, in escalation order

1. Questions to questions (Part 25 questionnaire)

After Form E exchange, each party files a questionnaire — targeted questions about gaps, inconsistencies and omissions in the other's Form E
Answers are served; vague answers generate follow-ups
The FDR court checks questionnaires were properly answered before allowing the FDR

2. Specific disclosure orders

Where answers are inadequate, the court can order the party to produce named documents: bank statements for named accounts, company accounts, property transactions, cryptowallet records
Banks, employers and platforms can be ordered to produce records directly

3. Court orders to third parties

Norwich Pharmacal / Bankers Trust–style orders (in family cases adapted) can compel third parties — banks, accountants, companies registries — to disclose records about the respondent's assets
HMRC information can be sought through the court in appropriate cases

4. Single joint expert (SJE)

A forensic accountant jointly instructed by both parties can examine business accounts, trace funds, and value companies realistically
Essential where a business is the main asset — its "book value" rarely reflects reality

5. Search orders and asset freezing

In serious cases: freezing injunctions (section 37 Matrimonial Causes Act / freezing orders) prevent assets being moved out of reach during proceedings
Search orders permit entry to premises to preserve evidence — exceptional
Form D50G can stop transactions intended to defeat financial claims

6. Draw adverse inferences

Where a spouse fails to disclose or gives evasive evidence, the court can infer that the hidden assets exist and are of a size favourable to the injured party — the leading authorities (including the Court of Appeal in NG v SG and the Supreme Court's approach in financial cases) allow the judge to "add back" or assume concealed wealth rather than let concealment win
The burden effectively shifts: the non-discloser must dispel the inference

Red flags worth investigating

Lifestyle inconsistent with declared income
Recent "gifts" or "loans" to family members
New companies or partnerships registered during the marriage's last years
Undisclosed directorships (search Companies House — free)
Properties held in relatives' names
Frequent cash withdrawals
Cryptocurrency (ask directly; treat denials carefully — tracing is possible)

What you can do without a court order

Companies House: free searches of directorships, shareholdings, filed accounts
Land Registry: £7 title documents show who owns property and what's charged on it
Social media and public records: lifestyle evidence
Keep records of everything — your own observations are evidence when organised

If the final order was made on false disclosure

The court can set aside a financial order obtained by fraud or material non-disclosure (the law here has evolved; the Supreme Court in Sharland and Gohil confirmed fraud unravels the deal) — apply promptly with the fresh evidence

Official links

YourFamilyCase.co.uk is an independent information directory — we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to HMCTS or gov.uk. This page is general information and is not legal advice. Non-disclosure cases are technical — a forensic accountant and a financial remedy solicitor are usually the difference between suspicion and proof.

Content verified against the official HMCTS court directory, gov.uk forms and fees pages, and the professional body registers (SRA, FMC, Bar Council). Last reviewed September 2026.