Six Tips to Help You Avoid Issues in a High Asset Divorce

While most divorces will have some level of complexity that comes along with them, a high asset divorce will almost always be decidedly more complicated. Where there is more to divide, there is more to disagree over, and dividing numerous assets like business interests, stock options, stock voting rights, deferred compensation, trusts, real estate, and jewelry or antiquities can take a great deal of time to value and ultimately split. If you’re considering divorce and you and your soon-to-be former spouse have a vast amount of assets to divide, you should call Irvine high asset divorce attorneys who have experience handling divorces for wealthy families. 

Before you embark on a high net worth divorce, consider six proven approaches for making the proceedings go as smoothly and quickly as possible.

Keep It Friendly

Maintaining a positive relationship with your former spouse will be key if you wish to walk away with what you deserve. Look for solutions that address your common interests, be flexible in what you’re asking for and understand where he or she is coming from, and stay focused on the next chapter. This will make it much easier to divide your assets and move on.

Look for Creative Settlement Options

Work with your attorney and a financial professional to craft settlement options that work for you both. Some assets, such as stock options or real estate, will only have a liquid value at a specific point in time, and depending on the circumstances of your divorce, that may or may not work for you. Be clear about what’s at stake.

Understand Which Assets Will be Included

Assets acquired before the marriage or through an inheritance will not be considered part of the marital estate and will not be divisible under California law. Have a clear picture of which assets definitely won’t make the cut before you get started.

Consider Planning Your Estate at the Time of Your Divorce

While you’re taking on the time and expense of working with knowledgeable Irvine high asset divorce attorneys, you may wish to consider devising your estate plan during your divorce. In dividing your assets, you and your former spouse can plan for how some assets may pass through to beneficiaries once you’re no longer here – which will likely minimize your tax obligations down the line.

Work With Irvine High Asset Divorce Attorneys Who Will Do What’s Best in Your Specific Situation

While it’s a given that you will want your attorney to be experienced, you most definitely want an attorney who has demonstrated success in settling cases. Because litigation can lead to substantial fees and costs – not to mention time and energy spent on a bitter and embattled divorce – settling your divorce is often the best approach. That said, you don’t want to settle for less than you deserve, which is why you want to work with a lawyer who has extensive experience with negotiation, mediation, or collaborative divorce. When searching for an attorney, find someone creative with a track record for settling cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

What causes most problems in a high-asset divorce?

Agreeing to terms before the numbers are established. A settlement reached on estimates of what a business earns, what a property is worth, or what income is available for support tends to produce either a bad deal or a later motion to set it aside. The related failure is treating nominally equal assets as equivalent when their tax basis differs. Both are avoidable, and both are avoided the same way, by completing the financial work before negotiating rather than after.

Does the same lawyer approach work for a complex estate as for a simple one?

The legal framework is identical, but the work is different in kind. A case with a closely held business, equity compensation, or a separate-property tracing question is decided on expert analysis and document reconstruction rather than on legal argument. That means the practical questions to ask are about forensic accounting, valuation methodology, and how the attorney has handled a comparable financial structure, rather than about general litigation experience.

How can a divorce be kept out of the public record?

By resolving the contested financial issues outside a public courtroom, since court files are public and sealing orders are granted sparingly. Mediation or private judging keeps valuations, ledgers, and compensation detail in a private exchange, with only the settlement submitted for judgment. Where filings are unavoidable, detailed financial schedules can often be referenced as exhibits held by the parties rather than attached to a public declaration. For business owners and executives, this is frequently the deciding consideration in choosing a process.

What is worth doing before a case is filed?

Assembling documents while access is straightforward, because the automatic restraining orders take effect on filing and cooperation typically declines. That means several years of tax returns with all schedules, bank and brokerage statements, business financials and the general ledger, entity and buy-sell documents, equity grant agreements, appraisals, and loan applications. Establishing a defensible date of separation matters as well. What should not be done is moving or restructuring assets, which the disclosure rules and the fiduciary duty between spouses make both discoverable and costly.