You know your household’s reality. You know what kind of cars are in the driveway, where the vacations happen, and roughly what it costs to live the life you’ve been living. So when you look at the financial affidavit your spouse filed — or when you start pulling together your own and realize you can’t account for where the money went — that gap between what you see and what the paperwork says is not something you’re imagining.
This is the moment that brings most people to the question you’re asking right now: do I need a forensic accountant?
The answer depends on your situation, and this page will help you figure it out. But here’s what you should know upfront — in Illinois, both spouses are required to serve completed financial affidavits on standardized forms, supported by tax returns, pay stubs, and bank statements, under 750 ILCS 5/501(a)(1). Courts are required to impose sanctions for affidavits that are intentionally or recklessly inaccurate. The disclosure obligation has teeth. A forensic accountant is the person who helps you figure out whether those teeth need to bite.
What a Forensic Accountant Actually Does in a Divorce
A forensic accountant is not the person who files your taxes. They’re a financial investigator — a CPA with specialized training in tracing where money came from, where it went, and whether anyone made it harder to follow.
In a divorce, their work typically falls into a few categories.
Tracing assets. Illinois presumes that all property acquired during the marriage is marital property under 750 ILCS 5/503(b). But one spouse may claim that certain funds are non-marital — an inheritance, a gift, something they owned before the wedding. The burden to prove that falls on the person making the claim, and they have to prove it by clear and convincing evidence. A forensic accountant traces the movement of money through accounts over months or years, determining whether non-marital funds were commingled with marital assets or kept separate. Illinois courts have held that when non-marital funds are contributed to jointly-held property, a presumption of gift to the marital estate arises (In re Marriage of Rogers, 85 Ill. 2d 217 (1981)). Without precise tracing, the marital estate may absorb money it shouldn’t — or miss money it’s entitled to.
Reconstructing income. When a spouse is self-employed, earns cash, or controls a business, their reported income may not tell the whole story. A forensic accountant reconstructs actual income by analyzing bank deposits, credit card spending, lifestyle costs, and business records. They look for personal expenses run through the business, unreported cash, and deferred compensation — the patterns that create a gap between what someone reports on paper and how they actually live.
Identifying dissipation. Under Illinois law, dissipation of marital assets is a specific factor courts consider when dividing property (750 ILCS 5/503(d)(2)). In re Marriage of O’Neill, 138 Ill. 2d 487 (1990) is the seminal Illinois case defining the concept. Once one spouse raises a dissipation claim and makes a prima facie showing, the burden shifts — the accused spouse must prove by clear and specific evidence how marital funds were spent (In re Marriage of Schneeweis, 2016 IL App (2d) 140147). Vague testimony about using money for “marital expenses” is not enough (In re Marriage of Brown, 2015 IL App (5th) 140062). A forensic accountant builds the paper trail that makes a dissipation claim provable — or defensible.
Valuing businesses and complex assets. Illinois courts value businesses using three generally accepted approaches: income-based (capitalizing expected earnings), market-based (comparable sales), and asset-based. The court must also distinguish between enterprise goodwill — the value tied to the business itself, which is divisible as a marital asset (In re Marriage of Talty, 166 Ill. 2d 232 (1995)) — and personal or professional goodwill, which is not divisible (In re Marriage of Zells, 143 Ill. 2d 251 (1991)). Getting this distinction wrong can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars misallocated. Expert testimony is typically required for complex asset valuations (In re Marriage of Hamilton, 2019 IL App (5th) 170295).
When You Need a Forensic Accountant — And When You Don’t
Not every divorce requires this level of financial investigation. If both spouses earn W-2 income, your assets are straightforward, and there’s no reason to believe anyone is being dishonest, a forensic accountant would likely be an unnecessary expense.
But certain situations change the calculation considerably. You should seriously consider one if:
Your spouse owns a business or is self-employed. Business owners have significantly more ability to control how their income appears on paper. Illinois courts look not only at reported income but also at “perquisites” — personal use of business assets — which get counted in income calculations. A forensic accountant reviews three to five years of business records to identify personal expenses flowing through the company, unreported revenue, and artificially suppressed earnings.
There’s a gap between lifestyle and reported income. If your household spent $15,000 a month but your spouse’s affidavit reports $8,000 in monthly income, that discrepancy needs an explanation. A forensic accountant performs a lifestyle analysis — reconstructing actual household spending from bank records, credit card statements, and other documentation — and compares it to what’s being disclosed.
You suspect assets have been hidden or moved. Illinois courts take concealment seriously. In In re Marriage of Palacios, 275 Ill. App. 3d 561 (1995), the court vacated a divorce judgment entirely when it was discovered that a spouse had concealed lottery winnings. In In re Marriage of Brubaker, 2022 IL App (2d) 200160, a judgment was reopened years after the divorce due to fraudulent concealment of a major asset. Courts can also disregard trusts created fraudulently to shield assets from division (In re Marriage of Frederick, 278 Ill. App. 3d 533 (1991)). A forensic accountant is often the person who finds what was hidden.
Commingled assets need to be untangled. When one spouse has a legitimate non-marital claim — say an inheritance received during the marriage — but those funds were deposited into joint accounts or used toward marital expenses, the tracing exercise becomes complex. Under the transmutation doctrine established in In re Marriage of Olson, 96 Ill. 2d 432 (1983), there’s a presumption that the owner intended to gift non-marital funds to the marital estate when they contributed them to joint property. Breaking that presumption requires detailed documentation.
Retirement accounts, stock options, or deferred compensation are involved. All pension benefits acquired during marriage are presumed marital property under 750 ILCS 5/503(b)(2). Illinois uses the Hunt formula — a coverture fraction — to determine the marital portion of defined benefit plans (In re Marriage of Hunt, 78 Ill. App. 3d 653 (1979)). Stock options are classified as marital if granted during the marriage and allocated using the vesting schedule and purpose of the grant. These calculations require precision a general practitioner or standard accountant may not be equipped to deliver.
On the other hand, if your marital estate is modest and transparent, the cost of a forensic accountant can exceed what they’d recover. The question is always proportionality — and a good divorce attorney will help you evaluate that before you commit.
How Forensic Accounting Works Inside an Illinois Divorce
Understanding the process can make it feel less opaque.
It begins with the financial affidavit. Illinois requires both spouses to disclose their finances on statewide standardized forms, supported by documentary evidence. In Cook County, the petitioner serves this within 30 days of service; the respondent within 30 days of appearance or seven business days before a hearing. These affidavits are not filed with the clerk — they’re served directly on the other party to protect against identity theft. A forensic accountant reviews these affidavits as a starting point and identifies what’s missing, inconsistent, or implausible.
From there, the forensic accountant works with your attorney to use Illinois’s full range of civil discovery tools — interrogatories (Rule 213), requests for production of documents (Rule 214), depositions (Rules 202–206), requests to admit (Rule 216), and subpoenas. As the Illinois Supreme Court put it in Williams v. A.E. Staley Manufacturing Co., 83 Ill. 2d 559 (1981), discovery is “intended as, and should be, a cooperative undertaking” — not a tactical game. The forensic accountant identifies exactly what records to request and how to read them once they arrive.
The analysis itself depends on the issues. For business valuation, the accountant evaluates financial statements, tax returns, and operational data using the income, market, and asset approaches — while carefully distinguishing enterprise goodwill from personal goodwill. For income reconstruction, they map every dollar flowing in and out of personal and business accounts. For dissipation claims, they isolate questionable transactions and build a timeline showing when and how marital funds were diverted.
The forensic accountant’s findings become evidence. Under Illinois law, valuation of marital assets must be supported by competent evidence, which typically means expert testimony or appraisals (In re Marriage of Hamilton, 2019 IL App (5th) 170295). The court’s valuation of assets, when it falls within the range testified to by experts, is ordinarily not disturbed on appeal (In re Marriage of Heroy, 385 Ill. App. 3d 640 (2008)). In other words, good forensic work gives the court a credible number to rely on — and that number often holds.
What It Costs and What It Can Recover
Forensic accountants in divorce cases typically charge between $5,000 and $50,000 or more, depending on the complexity. A single-owner small business with clean books sits at the lower end. A multi-entity situation with offshore accounts, years of commingled assets, and active concealment pushes toward the higher end.
That range can feel steep. But the relevant comparison isn’t the fee in isolation — it’s the fee measured against what’s at stake. If a business is undervalued by $200,000 because personal goodwill wasn’t properly separated from enterprise goodwill, or if $150,000 in dissipated assets goes unchallenged because nobody could trace the spending, the cost of not hiring a forensic accountant dwarfs the cost of hiring one.
Illinois law also provides a mechanism to address the cost disparity between spouses. Courts can award interim attorney’s fees and costs under 750 ILCS 5/501(c-1) to “level the playing field” — preventing one spouse from using greater wealth as a litigation weapon (In re Marriage of Beyer, 324 Ill. App. 3d 305 (2001)). This can include the cost of retaining experts. If your spouse controls significantly more resources, you may not have to fund this entirely on your own.
What Happens When Hidden Assets Come to Light
Illinois courts do not treat financial dishonesty lightly.
When one spouse conceals assets during a divorce, the consequences extend well beyond the original case. The court in Palacios vacated an entire divorce judgment over hidden lottery winnings. In Brubaker, a spouse’s fraudulent concealment of a major asset led to the judgment being reopened years later. These aren’t theoretical warnings — they’re reported appellate decisions that demonstrate what Illinois courts actually do when they discover fraud.
The statute reinforces this. Under 750 ILCS 5/501(a)(1), courts are required to impose sanctions for intentionally or recklessly inaccurate financial affidavits. Post-judgment relief for fraud is available under 735 ILCS 5/2-1401, typically within two years of discovering the concealment. And fraudulent trusts created to shield assets can be disregarded altogether (Frederick).
Courts can also award attorney’s fees as sanctions under 750 ILCS 5/508(b) when a party’s litigation conduct is improper — and these sanctions apply regardless of the offending party’s ability to pay (In re Marriage of Budorick, 2020 IL App (1st) 190994).
The system has remedies. But they depend on someone finding the problem first. That’s the forensic accountant’s job.
How to Find the Right Forensic Accountant
Not all forensic accountants do divorce work, and not all who do are equally qualified. Look for a CPA who holds a CFF (Certified in Financial Forensics) credential, an ABV (Accredited in Business Valuation), or both. Ask whether they’ve testified as an expert in Illinois family law cases and whether they’re familiar with the specific issues in your case — business valuation, tracing, dissipation, or income reconstruction.
The most important thing, though, is how the forensic accountant works with your attorney. The attorney identifies the legal questions — what needs to be proved, under what standard, to what court. The forensic accountant translates those questions into financial analysis. When that relationship works well, the forensic work feeds directly into the legal strategy rather than operating as an expensive sideshow.
At Lafata Law in DuPage County, divorce cases with complex financial issues are approached with this kind of coordination in mind. Megan Lafata and Tom Elsner — both former DuPage County prosecutors who tried over 100 cases to verdict — understand how evidence works in a courtroom, which means they know what a forensic accountant’s analysis needs to look like before a judge sees it. The goal isn’t to hire an expert for the sake of hiring one. It’s to build a case where every dollar is accounted for and every financial claim is supported.
Where to Start
If you’re reading this, you’re probably past the point of wondering whether something is wrong with the finances in your divorce. You’re trying to figure out what to do about it.
The right first step isn’t hiring a forensic accountant directly — it’s talking to a divorce attorney who can evaluate whether you need one and, if so, what kind of analysis your case requires. That conversation will save you time, money, and the frustration of hiring the wrong expert for the wrong problem.
If you’re going through a divorce in DuPage County or anywhere in Illinois and the financial picture doesn’t add up, Lafata Law can help you figure out what you’re dealing with. Call to set up a consultation.
