High Asset Divorce and Collaborative Law
If you and/or your spouse have amassed significant assets, both financial and material, dividing them may be complicated. High-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are loosely defined in the financial services industry as having liquid assets significantly above average, with yearly income in the high six figures or more. In addition to salary, HNWIs might also have significant financial and physical assets, such as multiple 401(k)s, homes, and luxury items, including businesses or rental properties.
With such a complex financial landscape, you may think that litigating your Bucks County divorce in court is your only option. But you do not want your fortune to go to attorneys. In my experience, the best option for a high-net-worth divorce is collaborative law.
In both litigation and collaborative law, you will have divorce attorneys working for you. But litigation requires court appearances, presenting your case to the judge, and hoping the judge’s final decision is beneficial to you. Most of the time, neither spouse is happy with the outcome. What’s worse, it usually takes several years to get to that point, after having spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
With collaborative law, each spouse hires his or her own collaboratively trained attorney, and all four sign an agreement not to litigate. The benefit of collaboration is that you have your own attorney whose goal is to help you get the very best settlement. You may also hire a divorce coach, financial planner, forensic accountant, tax attorney, or child specialist, as needed. While litigation can take years, collaborative divorce usually takes less than one year and costs significantly less than litigation.
Mediation is an even faster and less expensive option, but because of your complex financial profile, you may still want to hire various financial experts to help you collect all financial information and possibly a high-asset divorce lawyer to offer some expert advice. These experts would not be at the table during mediation, but they would be valuable advisors.
What to bring to the table
Before you come to your first session, you should take a complete financial inventory:
- real estate, including rental properties
- art, furniture, and collectibles
- vehicles
- jewelry
- inherited material goods
- businesses
- investments
- trusts
- inherited financial assets
- intellectual property
- retirement accounts
- cash and cash equivalents
- cryptocurrency and other types of digital currency
A tax accountant should analyze the tax implications of the various options you have for dividing your assets, such as selling and splitting the sale price versus transferring ownership.
Clearly define which assets you share as a couple and which may be in your name only. There may be some dispute over what constitutes marital property.
Besides valuing all your assets, you should also come prepared with a list of all expenses.
Bring any prenuptial or post-nuptial agreements to the first session, as they are a critical component of the division of assets.
If you have children, we will begin discussing custodial arrangements. While dividing your assets and expenses may be complex, caring for your children is paramount and should be an integral part of the discussion. What are your hopes for your children? Much depends on their ages and activities, but certain topics like future college costs, automobile ownership, and insurance coverage should be addressed.
Mediation or collaboration?
My experience as a divorce attorney has convinced me that mediation and collaborative law are significantly better for most divorcing couples than court litigation. Both are faster, less expensive, less contentious, and leave both ex-spouses happier with the final outcome. Which is better for you depends on your unique circumstances. Reach out to us at our Doylestown, Bucks County, PA office at (215) 345-5259 so we can help you choose what is best for you. Your initial consultation is free.