New Brunswick Hidden Assets Checklist

New Brunswick provides several legitimate discovery methods under the Rules of Court. You can cross-examine your spouse on their sworn Form 72J Financial Statement under Rule 72.14(7), conduct an examination for discovery under oath, and issue subpoenas duces tecum to banks, employers, and financial institutions. Comparing your spouse's lifestyle to reported income, reviewing tax returns for undisclosed income sources on Schedules B, C, D, and K-1, and hiring a forensic accountant to trace assets are all effective strategies used in New Brunswick divorces.

Hiding assets in a New Brunswick divorce carries serious consequences. Under Rule 72.14(6) of the Rules of Court, the court can dismiss your action, strike your pleadings, draw adverse inferences against you, and hold you in contempt. Providing false information on your sworn Form 72J Financial Statement may constitute perjury under Section 131 of the Criminal Code of Canada, punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment. Courts can also award costs against the offending party and order an unequal division of property favouring the honest spouse.

In New Brunswick divorce discovery, you should request at minimum: three to five years of personal and business tax returns, bank statements for all accounts, credit card statements, brokerage and investment account statements, business financial statements and ledgers, loan applications (which often contain detailed asset disclosures), real estate records, vehicle registrations, pension and RRSP statements, life insurance policies with cash values, and any CRA correspondence. Under the Rules of Court, you can subpoena records directly from third parties like banks and employers if your spouse fails to produce them.

Yes, New Brunswick courts can set aside divorce settlements obtained through fraud or material non-disclosure. Canadian case law, including the Supreme Court decision in Leskun v Leskun 2006 SCC 25, establishes that courts take non-disclosure extremely seriously—calling it 'the cancer of matrimonial property litigation.' If you discover your spouse concealed significant assets during your divorce, you can apply to have the settlement varied or set aside entirely, even years after the divorce was finalized. The burden is on you to prove the concealment was material and would have affected the outcome.

A forensic accountant is highly recommended in New Brunswick divorces involving business ownership, self-employment income, complex investments, or suspected asset concealment. Forensic accountants can trace assets through multiple accounts, identify lifestyle-versus-income discrepancies, analyze business records for hidden income or inflated expenses, and value complex assets like business interests. While fees typically range from $200 to $400 per hour, the cost is often justified when significant assets are at stake—studies suggest asset concealment occurs in 30-40% of high-asset divorces.

Key warning signs of asset concealment in New Brunswick divorces include: a sudden decrease in reported income around separation, lifestyle inconsistent with declared income, reluctance to provide financial documents, cash-intensive businesses, unexplained transfers to family members or friends, overpayment of taxes to CRA (with intent to claim refunds post-divorce), new post office boxes or email accounts, delayed bonuses or deferred compensation, cryptocurrency purchases, and missing pages from financial statements. If you notice these patterns, consider requesting a thorough examination for discovery under the New Brunswick Rules of Court.

Cryptocurrency and digital assets are treated as marital property subject to division in New Brunswick divorces. Spouses must disclose all cryptocurrency holdings on their Form 72J Financial Statement, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and tokens held in digital wallets. Canadian courts, as established in M.M.D. v J.A.H., apply the same disclosure rules to cryptocurrency as traditional assets. Valuation challenges exist due to volatility—courts may order liquidation and division of proceeds, in-kind transfers between wallets, or offsetting with other assets. Failure to disclose cryptocurrency holdings constitutes material non-disclosure subject to penalties.

New Brunswick divorce discovery follows the Rules of Court and includes several stages. First, both parties must file Form 72J Financial Statements disclosing all income, assets, debts, and expenses under oath. Second, parties exchange an Affidavit of Documents listing all relevant records. Third, either party can conduct an examination for discovery—oral questioning under oath similar to a deposition. Fourth, parties may issue subpoenas duces tecum to third parties like banks and employers. Rule 72.14(7) specifically allows cross-examination on financial statements at motion hearings, discovery, and trial.