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High Asset Divorce

Getting divorced can involve complex emotional and personal issues. However, if you and your spouse have a high net worth, divorce can also lead to challenging financial issues that cause extensive legal disputes. As a result, you need seasoned legal counsel who can help you understand your rights and advocate on your behalf to pursue a fair outcome in your divorce proceeding.
Contact The Law Offices of Gildin & Chapman for an initial case review with a knowledgeable divorce attorney to discuss your legal options for protecting your rights and interests in a high-asset divorce.

Why Choose a Lawyer from The Law Offices of Gildin & Chapman for a High-Asset Divorce?

If you and your spouse own substantial assets or earn significant income, resolving the financial issues in your divorce can lead to challenging disputes. Hiring experienced legal counsel can help reduce the stress of your divorce and allow you to pursue a favorable outcome. Turn to a high-asset divorce lawyer from The Law Offices of Gildin & Chapman to help you protect your financial interests because:

  • Our full-service law firm offers extensive resources and in-depth knowledge of the law to guide clients through complex legal issues in divorce cases. Our attorneys will defend your rights and fight to get you what you deserve under the law, while treating you with the compassion and respect you deserve.
  • We take a results-oriented approach to legal representation, ensuring you feel comfortable working with us and can discuss your legal options with our team.
  • Our lawyers will walk you through every aspect of your case and prepare you for what to expect in the legal process so you never feel left in the dark. We never rely on one-size-fits-all solutions but instead work tirelessly to pursue the best possible resolution to your case.

Understanding High-Assets Divorce

A “high-asset” divorce refers to a divorce involving a married couple who own substantial assets or earn significant income, usually assets or income of seven figures or more. A couple’s high income or considerable assets can make resolving financial issues, such as property division, alimony, or child support, more complex. High-asset divorces can become more complicated where one spouse has a significantly higher earning capacity than the other spouse, such as when one spouse works and the other spouse assumes homemaking and childcare duties, as spouses may argue over the value of their respective contributions to the marriage when resolving financial issues.

Challenges and Complexities in High-Asset Divorces

High-asset divorces can involve legal issues unique to these cases. Some of the challenges that high-asset couples can face when getting divorced include:
Asset Valuations
High-net-worth couples may own high-value or complex assets as marital property subject to division in divorce. As a result, one of the challenges that can arise in high-asset divorces includes determining the value of complex marital assets, such as real estate, artwork, collectibles, or business ownership interests. Assigning values to marital assets can require couples to seek expert appraisals, while competing expert opinions can lead to extended litigation between spouses.
Hidden Assets
Some high-asset divorces involve situations where one spouse may attempt to conceal assets to avoid including them in equitable division or claim less income to reduce spousal or child support obligations. Strategies that spouses sometimes use to hide assets or income include:
  • Placing assets in shell corporations or trusts
  • Transferring assets to third parties who will transfer them back to the spouse after the divorce
  • Opening offshore trusts
  • Imposing fake loans or expenses on a business to reduce its apparent value or profits
When a spouse tries to hide assets, the other spouse may need to hire forensic accountants to locate those assets and trace them back to the marital estate. As a result, hidden assets can make a high-asset divorce more expensive and time-consuming for couples. However, courts may order relief for the other spouse, including awarding a larger share of the marital estate or ordering the spouse who hid assets to pay the other spouse’s legal expenses.
Tax Consequences
Dividing property in a high-asset divorce can have tax consequences for couples. For example, transferring property from one spouse to another or liquidating assets to split the proceeds may lead to capital gains taxes that can eat into the value of the marital estate. Couples also must follow special procedures for dividing tax-advantaged retirement accounts and pensions by using qualified domestic relations orders to avoid tax penalties for withdrawing from such accounts before retirement age.
Business Interests
In many high-asset couples, one or both spouses own business interests, all or part of which may qualify as marital assets subject to division in a divorce. However, dividing business interests in a divorce can involve complex financial and legal considerations, such as establishing the value of a spouse’s ownership interest and navigating contractual restrictions on transferring interests in the business’s governance documents.
Spousal Support
Spousal support can become an issue in a high-asset divorce when one spouse has a substantially higher earning capacity or when one spouse did not work during most or all of the marriage. Couples can get into intense disputes over an award of spousal support or the amount of a spouse’s obligation.
Prenuptial/Postnuptial Agreements
Many high-asset couples have prenuptial or postnuptial agreements that purport to resolve various financial issues, including designating and dividing marital assets and establishing spousal support obligations. However, spouses may seek to challenge the validity or enforceability of prenuptial or postnuptial agreements by alleging fundamental unfairness, coercion/duress, or lack of financial disclosures. Although prenuptial or postnuptial agreements can make a high-asset divorce more efficient, they can also complicate the litigation when a party wishes to challenge the enforcement of an agreement.

What Steps Should You Take for a High-Asset Divorce?

When your marriage comes to an end, steps you can take to look after your interests in a high-asset divorce include:
  • Gather copies of all financial records, including tax returns, bank or brokerage statements, property deeds, and asset lists
  • Document your and your spouse’s budget during your marriage
  • Watch out for signs of concealment of assets or income by your spouse, such as new bank accounts, unusual financial transactions, or missing property or documents
  • Seek legal counsel with extensive experience representing spouses in high-asset divorce cases

How an Attorney Can Help with a High-Asset Divorce

Having experienced legal counsel with extensive insights into high-asset divorces can help you manage the complex issues that arise and protect your rights and interests. An attorney from The Law Offices of Gildin & Chapman can help you pursue a positive outcome to your high-asset divorce by:
  • Taking time to discuss your needs, concerns, and goals to develop a legal strategy tailored to your interests and objectives
  • Reviewing prenuptial/postnuptial agreements and financial documents to understand your rights and options
  • Providing an honest assessment of your legal position
  • Advocating for a fair resolution to property division and alimony claims, whether by negotiating a divorce settlement agreement or fighting on your behalf in court

Contact Our New York City Firm Today for Experienced Guidance and Advocacy

If you or your spouse has filed for divorce, resolving financial issues can become uniquely complex when your family owns substantial assets. Contact The Law Offices of Gildin & Chapman today for a confidential consultation with a knowledgeable divorce attorney. Let’s discuss how our firm will fight to protect your interests and help you seek a favorable resolution to the economic issues in your high-asset divorce.

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