Divorce is always hard, but when you have a high-asset divorce to get through, things can get especially complicated. When there are many assets involved, the chances that you will come away from the divorce with less than you deserve gets a lot higher. Not to mention, there’s a lot more stress and potential for arguments between the two parties in a high-asset break up. Here in San Mateo, CA, Seeley Family Law Practice can help you get through your divorce smoothly and come out the other side in good financial shape.
How Can a San Mateo, CA High-Asset Divorce Attorney Help?
By Doing a Comprehensive Financial Analysis
It can be very difficult to get perfectly accurate information about all the assets that a married couple has. Even if neither party is attempting to hide their assets (something we’ll discuss below), it’s still common for a couple to have assets they don’t really understand. How much is that real estate really worth? What is a business really worth? Business owners very commonly over or underestimate the value of their business. How do you factor all of this in along with investments, bank accounts, gold or silver, retirement accounts, family inheritance, and valuable property like paintings or jewelry?
Not only must each of these things be properly valued, but complicating everything is the fact that it requires a different approach to value each of them. A divorce attorney with experience in high-asset cases will have a range of financial experts to draw upon to make sure all property is correctly valued. These will include at the least forensic accountants and other independent, certified expert appraisers.
By Engaging in Asset Tracing
It’s quite common for high net-worth people to attempt to hide assets in a divorce. Even if you have a good relationship with your soon-to-be ex, that doesn’t mean they’re not holding back whatever they can to protect their own bottom line and future. A good lawyer knows where to look to uncover these assets.
An experienced lawyer knows how to carefully scrutinize financial documents like tax returns, business records, bank statements, investment portfolios, and more to find the clues that lead to hidden assets. A lawyer also has the legal standing in the situation to request full financial documentation from your ex, and ignoring this legal requirement will cause your ex trouble down the line.
By Protecting Your Interests
Your lawyer will go into this process ready to negotiate on your behalf, and your lawyer is a legal professional with extensive experience who is entirely on your side. Your lawyer will carefully prepare for negotiations by considering every factor that applies. This includes any prenuptial or postnuptial agreements, all the assets that are in play, the behavior of both parties, the financial situation of both parties, and practical estimates of future income, earning potential, business growth, etc.
Your lawyer will be protecting your interests in another way, though, too. In order for your lawyer to properly negotiate on your behalf, they’ll need to know many detailed specifics about your situation. Some of these specifics can get into very private areas of confidential business and personal issues. A lawyer with experience in these types of divorces knows how to ensure your safety and the safety of your private information.
By Helping You With Tax Implications Analysis
A divorce can have an enormous effect on taxes. When there are numerous assets in play, it’s more important than ever to plan the entire divorce in such a way as to reduce your tax liability as much as possible.
For example, when you transfer assets such as real estate from one party to another, the taxation on capital gains can be ruinously high. Even for individuals with a lot of wealth, the taxes can be a shock and even impossible to pay if most of that wealth is not liquid. An experienced lawyer will negotiate with this in mind at all times to mitigate the consequences of taxes and divide assets in a way that protects you as much as possible.
By Talking Through Your Financial Future
If you have not been through a high-asset divorce in the past, it’s unlikely that you would know what to expect for your financial future. A lawyer with experience in this area has helped many clients through the steps and has a good idea of what you need to think about. Your lawyer can sit down with you and help you come up with a strategy to adapt to your new financial situation and deal with assets, investments, and retirement planning in a way that safeguards your future and the future of any children you might have.
By Preparing for Court, If Necessary
It’s always better to settle a divorce of this nature privately whenever that’s possible. However, there are simply some situations where it’s not possible for the two parties to come to an agreement or where one party refuses to cooperate. In that case, you want a lawyer with trial experience who knows how to prepare a courtroom strategy that will protect your interests.
Your lawyer will go over and prepare all the evidence to present the story in a way the court will thoroughly understand. Your lawyer will also identify the key witnesses that need to be brought forward and work with them on their testimony. A good lawyer can also anticipate what strategies the other side is going to use and develop ways to counter them.
How to Help Your Lawyer
Be Honest
The best way to help your lawyer is to be honest and proactive about your information. Your lawyer cannot work on your behalf if they don’t properly understand your situation. Remember that your lawyer is on your side. Whatever you tell them in the confidence of attorney-client privilege is private.
Refer Communication to Your Lawyer
Things can get very confusing if you engage in regular arguments or private conversations with your ex. Try to avoid doing this at all and leave the communication and negotiation to your lawyer. If you do get into it, be sure to tell your lawyer everything that happened and everything that was said. Make sure your lawyer always has all the information that you have: the worst thing would be for your lawyer to be blindsided in negotiations by a claim from the other side that you “agreed” to something your lawyer knew nothing about.
Be Patient
These divorces are complicated, and the most important thing is that your lawyer protect your assets, reputation, and future. It takes time to do things right, so be sure to give your lawyer this time. Ask in advance about how often you should expect to be updated on the situation, and certainly write or call if you have any questions. But be sure to also be patient and give your lawyer space to work on your behalf.
At Seeley Family Law Practice, we take a team-based approach to these divorces so we can effectively develop the best strategies. However complicated things may be for you, we can help. We’ve helped everyone from homemakers to doctors, business owners to CEOs, scientists to engineers: and we can help you, too. Reach out to us at Seeley Family Law Practice in San Mateo today to schedule a consultation.