4. What can a party do if he/she knows that the other party does not make full and frank disclosure in Form E?

4. What can a party do if he/she knows that the other party does not make full and frank disclosure in Form E?

The party will have to show why or even produce evidence to prove why they think the other party has not made full and frank disclosure in Form E. This is presented to the court for consideration. If the court finds that there is non-disclosure, the untruthful party may be punished.

The usual sanction for a failure to make adequate financial disclosure is in an adverse costs order, that is, (i) the parties should bear their own costs, (ii) a successful but non-compliant party should lose entitlement to part of its costs, or (iii) in the most serious cases, a party should pay indemnity costs. In addition, the court may draw an adverse inference that would affect the ultimate division of the marital assets.

Parties are reminded to be careful in obtaining documents belonging to the other party that may be private and confidential. ‘Self-help’ remedies like going through the other party’s private computer or locked and password protected safe to get evidence is frowned upon by the court (see Sim Kon Fah v JBPB & Co [2001] 4 HKLRD 45).