Legal Considerations in a High Asset Divorce
When more property and financial interests are at stake in a divorce, the case tends to be more complex and contentious. Here are some important legal issues that high-asset divorces may implicate:
Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements
When someone walks into a marriage with significant assets, they generally want to preserve their wealth in case of divorce. They may have negotiated a prenuptial agreement to protect their separate property or relegate certain property acquired after marriage as their own property not subject to property division in case of divorce.
Wealthy couples may also enter into postnuptial agreements after their wedding ceremony. The terms of these agreements may dictate property division, but there may be legal challenges that a skilled high asset divorce attorney in Nashville can raise if the outcome would be unfair to one of the spouses.
Property Valuations
More valuable property can complicate the property division process. Special experts, such as property appraisers, business valuation experts, and antiquities dealers, may need to be brought in to determine a fair value for the property. These individuals may have specialized training and experience working with complex assets and properly valuing them.
Hidden Assets
In some high-asset divorce cases, a spouse may try to conceal assets to prevent their spouse from receiving them or a share of them. Spouses may hide assets in various ways, such as:
- Placing the property in private trusts
- Creating business entities that conceal their identity
- Gifting them or loaning them to friends or family
- Delaying bonuses, commission payments, stock options, or other employment benefits until after the divorce is finalized
- Placing them in offshore accounts
- Titling them in someone else’s name
- Removing them from the marital home into an undisclosed location
- Using cryptocurrency
Divorce lawyers in Nashville may need to employ forensic accountants and other highly specialized experts to help track down these assets.
Spousal Support
If the spouses have disparate earning capacities and separate estates, Tennessee law may provide for the award of spousal support so a dependent spouse can continue to enjoy the lifestyle they had during the marriage. The supporting spouse may wish to provide a greater amount of property as a lump sum to avoid making large financial support payments, but the other spouse may be concerned about their long-term financial stability. An experienced Nashville spousal support lawyer can help negotiate a fair resolution.
Tax Consequences
Selling real property, liquidating retirement accounts, restructuring businesses, and transferring investments can have tax consequences. You need to work with a lawyer experienced in handling these matters who can explain the potential tax consequences and how to minimize them.
Contact Our Experienced Divorce Attorneys for Legal Advice and Representation
If you are going through a complex high-asset divorce and would like legal assistance, reach out to the experienced Nashville family law attorneys at Burdine Law Firm, PLLC. We can discuss your situation and how we can help during a confidential, no-obligation consultation. We have decades of experience protecting the financial interests of divorcing spouses and can bring our considerable experience and wealth of knowledge of Tennessee divorce law to your case. Contact our law firm today to arrange a confidential consultation.