Financial issues involved in divorce scale along a continuum, with simple and complex being two extreme points. High asset divorces involve complicated assets (for example, stock voting rights, stock options, closely-held business interests, assets in a trust, deferred compensation, tax benefits, real estate benefits), which are part of the couple’s holdings. Followings are some important considerations to keep in mind if you have got involved into a high asset divorce:
Hire a good family law counsel having valuable experience in and strong reputation for settling high asset divorce cases
The reasons you insist on the ‘experience’ of a lawyer are obvious but less so when it comes to the skill of the professional in settling cases similar to yours. During divorce case litigation, hefty amounts of costs and fees can be incurred in establishing the value of assets calculated with certainty as required by the pertinent case law and statutes as well as the must-consider equitable factors in dividing property reckoned in the statutes.
In a settlement process – for example, mediation, negotiation, Collaborative Divorce cases – an experienced lawyer with an eye on out-of-the-pack settlement can come up with a less expensive draft.
Have Reasonable Expectations
If your income is higher than your spouse’s and contributes to the lion’s share of the assets, a strong feeling may well up within you to retain most of it after an ultimate asset division. If you economically depend on your spouse, you will not like to take any risk related to assets bestowed upon your from your marriage. Irrespective of the situation you are currently in, having knowledge of what the appropriate law offers will help you make and maintain some reasonable expectations about the possible outcomes in your specific case.
Maintain Trust
If you manage to set aside your differences with your spouse, suppress your anger and ego and mellow your desire for revenge, it will enable you to streamline the divorce and asset division procedure. Broadly speaking, you should be very careful with your actions as well as choice and use of words even before you mention the possibility of separation for the first time. Keep in mind that rebuilding trust is not easy once it has already taken a plunge. Try to find out solutions that will address common interests and benefit both parties; it will help you to restore and retain trust.
Combine estate planning and divorce settlement
If it is a long-term marriage, you may prefer to consider estate planning in combination with the resolution of your financial issues in divorce. It is most likely to involve planning for your children or charity. If both of you have no problem with it, you should hire an attorney who can help by drafting the settlement agreement.
Show your creative side when developing settlement options
By combining an experienced family law attorney’s expertise and a financial professional’s knowledge, you can develop innovative options for settlement in your particular high-asset divorce case.
Special care is needed in case of inherited assets or assets received before marriage
Expect your attorney to ask you the question about how and when you acquired assets during your first meeting. It is difficult to understand and establish if your assets are ‘marital’ or ‘separate’. According to Lawrence Law Firm, documentations to prove the answers should be pursued methodically and carefully.
