Going through a divorce rarely is easy. However, it becomes even more difficult if you and your spouse have significant assets. You may have substantial income, work bonuses, savings and investments. You may own multiple properties and a few classic cars. You may own a business together too.
With high-asset divorces, the divorce process becomes more complicated and often more contentious. You likely will face multiple obstacles before reaching a settlement. Some of the most common challenges you may face in a high-asset divorce include the following:
- You will have to account for all your marital assets. Since California is a community property state, you and your spouse will split your marital assets evenly. However, determining which assets are marital property and which are separate often is difficult, especially if one of you received an inheritance or owned property before you married. Also, accounting for all your assets will take time and effort. You may not receive a regular income or you could have investment overseas. You may even need to hire a forensic accountant to ensure all your assets are accounted for properly.
- You will have to get a valuation for your marital home and your business, so you know how much they are worth when dividing your assets. If one of you wants to keep the marital home or run your business on your own after divorce, you will have to buy your spouse out of their share of these assets.
- You may have assets you have to split that aren’t liquid assets and your debt will impact how many assets you split too.
- Your divorce settlement likely will have tax implications, so you need to be aware of those before you finalize your divorce.
- You may have to pay spousal support as well as child support, especially if your spouse has been a stay-at-home parent in recent years and will need time and additional education to reenter the workforce.
If you are facing a high-asset divorce, you need to work closely with an attorney who has handled divorces in which significant assets are involved. You will need someone to help you account for all your assets and make sure your spouse isn’t hiding assets. You may need to establish what level of spousal support or child support you will have to pay.
You want to come to a solution that best fits your interests in your divorce. With your attorney’s help, you can work toward that and overcome the challenges that are common in high-asset divorces.
