It's criminal not to disclose

David Salter, Addleshaw Goddard, Leeds Manchester and London. The Fraud Act 2006 came into force on 15 January 2007 and creates a new offence of fraud which can be committed in three ways: fraud by false representation, fraud by failing to disclose information, and fraud by abuse of position. In this article the ingredients of the new offence of fraud by failing to disclose information and the impact on the family lawyer is considered. What was previously a civil obligation has been criminalised by the Act and as such the implications for the family lawyer are greater. However, given the ingredients of the mens rea of the offence, is there any real risk that the individual family lawyer will fall foul of the legislation? The article identifies areas of practice that will need to be revisited in light of the new legislation and the potential impact on divorce cases. Pitfalls that may await the practitioner are also highlighted. For the full article see May [2007] Fam Law.

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