Our Irvine Divorce Attorneys Understand the Needs of Medical Professionals in a Divorce

As a doctor or other medical professional, thinking about getting divorced can add stress to your already-stressful life. How long will the process take? How much will you need to be involved? What assets will you have to give up, and how will getting divorced impact your relationship with your children? Will you have to pay a significant portion of your post-divorce income to your former spouse? If you ow25n your practice, will your spouse be entitled to a share of your business in your divorce? Chances are, you’re facing a high net-worth divorce and your finances are a big concern. 

These are all very valid questions. At the same time, however, it is important not to let uncertainty prevent you from moving forward. At Seastrom Tuttle Murphy Dockstader, we have particular experience representing doctors and other medical professionals, and we understand your concerns. We also know that it is very possible to achieve a positive outcome in an efficient manner, and that with the right approach you can protect what matters most as you prepare to start your post-divorce life.

Special Considerations for Getting Divorced as a Doctor or Other Medical Professional in California

Fundamentally, your profession does not impact the divorce process. All divorcing spouses must address the issues of property division, financial support and child custody, and all couples have the same options with regard to pursuing private settlement negotiations, mediation and divorce litigation. However, as a doctor or other medical professional, getting divorced involves some special considerations, and addressing these considerations directly can be critical to achieving a favorable result.

Some examples of these special considerations include:

• Alimony and Child Support for High-Earning Spouses­ – As a general rule, California’s alimony laws require the consideration of both spouse’s standard of living after their divorce. If you have used your earnings to finance a high-end lifestyle, or if you spend a significant amount of money on your children, these are both factors that could impact the financial aspects of your divorce.
• Child Custody for Doctors Who Work Long or Odd Hours – As a doctor, your profession should not work against you when it comes to spending time with your children. As a practical matter, however, working long or odd hours can impact the determination of child custody, and this is an issue that you will need to be prepared to confront head-on in your divorce.
• Ownership of Your Private Medical Practice – If you own a medical practice and started it during your marriage, then all or a portion of your practice may qualify as “community property” that is subject to division in your divorce. If your medical practice is on the table, you will need to develop a strategy focused on preserving your professional autonomy after your marriage is over.

Speak with an Orange County High-Net-Worth Divorce Lawyer in Confidence

These are just a few examples of the numerous issues that doctors and other medical professionals must carefully address during the divorce process. If you have questions and would like to speak with one of our Orange County divorce lawyers in confidence, we encourage you to call 949-474-0800 or contact us online to schedule an initial consultation. 

Common Questions About Divorce for Physicians and Medical Professionals in Orange County

Is a medical practice divided in a California divorce?

The community interest in it is. A practice built during marriage is a community asset even though only one spouse holds the license, and it must be valued and accounted for. The practice itself is not split in two. It is ordinarily awarded to the physician spouse, with the other spouse receiving an offsetting share of value through other assets or a payment over time. The dispute is therefore almost never about who keeps the practice; it is about what the practice is worth and how the offset is funded.

How is the goodwill of a practice valued?

The goodwill of a medical practice is often divisible community property, which surprises many physicians. How much of it is divisible is contested in most of these cases. Valuation separates the value attributable to the practice as a going concern, its patient base, referral relationships, staff, systems, and location, from the physician’s personal reputation and future labor, which is not community property to divide. The excess-earnings approach is common, normalizing the physician’s compensation to what a comparable employed physician would earn and capitalizing the earnings above that level. Because the outcome turns on the normalization figure and the capitalization rate, those two inputs are where these cases are won or lost.

Does a buy-sell or partnership agreement control the value?

It is evidence, and sometimes strong evidence, but it is not automatically binding on the court. Group practice agreements often set a formula value well below fair market value, and a court is not required to adopt a figure the partners set for their own internal purposes. What matters is whether the formula reflects economic reality and whether it has actually governed real transactions among the partners. Where it has been consistently applied to genuine buy-ins and buy-outs, it carries substantially more weight.

How is a physician’s income determined for support?

Not from the W-2 alone. Income available for support includes practice distributions, productivity and quality bonuses, call and coverage pay, moonlighting, medical directorships, employer retirement contributions, and personal expenses the practice pays. For an owner, the figure is built from the practice’s books. There is also a genuine ceiling issue, because much physician income depends on hours worked, and a support order that assumes a punishing call schedule will continue indefinitely tends to produce a modification motion rather than compliance.

About the Firm

Seastrom Tuttle Murphy Dockstader is a family law firm in Irvine representing clients throughout Orange County, and in Los Angeles County. The firm practices family law exclusively. Its attorneys include Fellows of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, and attorneys certified as specialists in family law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Call 949.474.0800 to discuss a physician or medical practice divorce with the firm.