Over the course of your marriage, you and your spouse may have experienced a great deal of success in life. You may have a wonderful family, the house of your dreams and own a business that is looked upon as the leader of its industry. You and your spouse have made sound investments, and have ensured that your children will have a future that can provide them with everything that they will ever need.
Despite the seemingly perfect marriage, unexpected events can happen that can turn your entire life upside down. When you or your spouse decides to file for divorce, it is important to realize that it is up to you to protect yourself during this process. No matter how kind your spouse may be during the divorce, you need to know your options. It is important to know for the sake of your family and your business what the likely scenario of a divorce entails for your future.
At Contreras Law Firm, in San Diego, our experienced high-net-worth divorce attorneys are here to help with your high-asset divorce. We can immediately develop a strategy that ensures you receive the property that you are entitled to under California’s community property laws.To find out how a high-asset divorce attorney can help you, give us a call today at (619) 238-0616 to schedule your free consultation.
Why The High Asset Divorce Attorneys At Contreras Law Firm Are The Right Call
At Contreras Law Firm, we know that every divorce involves important decisions related to money, property, and children — and that the decisions made during divorce proceedings can change your life no matter your level of wealth.
However, high-net-worth divorces introduce more issues, and more complex issues, than a typical divorce. You can’t hire just any divorce attorney when you have substantial wealth at stake, and you need a firm that prioritizes discretion if your wealth makes you a figure of public interest.
Our firm has represented many wealthy individuals throughout San Diego and we offer something different than other firms including:
- In-depth knowledge of unique issues raised in high-net-worth divorce
- Familiarity with divorce proceedings involving challenges to prenuptial agreements
- A creative, big-picture approach that allows more divorces to be negotiated, and thus resolved privately outside of court
- Compassion for the client and a focus on the family, with the goal of helping you to build the most secure future following the end of your marriage — even in situations where your spouse outearns you
We know that the issues raised in a high net-worth divorce are very sensitive issues. We work discretely to come to an agreement when it is in your best interests. When you need a team to fight for you in court, we have the experience that you can rely upon to get results at trial. We care a great deal about your case, and we will make sure that you get the chance to receive your full share of your marital property.
How Can a High-Asset Divorce Attorney Help You?
A high-asset divorce attorney at Contreras Law Firm will provide important legal advice and representation throughout your divorce. Some of the ways in which we can assist you include
- Finding hidden assets
- Helping you to determine the appropriate valuation of community property
- Assisting with the determination of separate vs. marital property
- Working to determine the validity of a prenuptial agreement and to argue for or against enforcement
- Developing a creative approach to the division of complex assets such as closely held family businesses
- Arguing for a fair arrangement regarding alimony and spousal support
- Helping you to get attorney’s fees paid by a higher-earning partner
- Negotiating a divorce agreement on your behalf independently or in mediation so you can avoid public court proceedings
- Representing your interests in court when no compromise can be reached
From day one of your divorce, we will work to help you maintain the quality of life established during marriage and to protect the right to assets you have worked hard to acquire.
What is a High-Asset Divorce?
There is no specific definition of a high-asset divorce. In general, however, this type of divorce occurs when a couple who is ending a marriage has significant wealth. If your net worth is $1 million or more, your divorce would likely be considered a high-asset divorce.
Although anyone who has inherited money or had success in life could potentially become involved in a high-asset divorce if they separate from a spouse or partner, working in certain specific industries tends to be more lucrative than others. As a result, people in specific professions are more likely to go through a high-asset divorce including:
- Doctors, dentists, surgeons, or other medical professionals
- Lawyers
- Engineers
- FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix or Google) employees or other tech workers
- Investment bankers
- Corporate executives
At Contreras Law Firm, we have represented individuals in these industries and more. We understand that different challenges can arise depending on your profession — for example, stock options are more likely to be an issue for tech professionals — and we know the ins and outs of how to handle the complexities of your specific case.
What Makes High-Asset Divorce Different?
The issues in a high-asset divorce are very similar to those in other divorces, but the stakes are much more significant. The more assets that a couple owns, the more difficult it can be to work toward a solution that each side finds reasonable. Some of the issues that cause problems in these divorces include:
- Determining the value of retirement assets, including IRAs, 401(k) accounts and other investments accumulated during the marriage
- Assessing the value of a business or business interests owned by one or both spouses
- Dividing the marriage debts equally between the spouses
- Deciding what to do with the couple’s home, the equity in the home or the outstanding mortgage balance
- If one spouse had property prior to marriage, separate property, determining if the other spouse has any interest in that separate property
Community property laws state that marital property should be divided equally between the spouses. You have to be sure that your property division agreement is an accurate reflection of what you should receive from the divorce. These may be very contentious discussions, but we will be here to make sure that you have an advocate working toward achieving results.
What Are Some Of The Most Common Problems In High-Asset Divorces?
Time and time again, our high-asset divorce lawyers see many of the same issues causing problems in divorce discussions. We want to take a moment to discuss these matters, and also tell you how we can help you move past these issues and reach an agreement that is in your best interests.
Concealing Or Hiding Property
In many of these divorces, a spouse may try to hide or conceal assets. This means that your spouse will underreport income or pass along property to others to try to show that he or she has fewer assets than originally believed. This is especially true when one of the spouses is self-employed.
Our high-asset divorce attorneys work with experts to determine the amount of income that your spouse has accumulated during the marriage. We examine all tax records, bank statements and credit card statements to make sure that we have a clear picture.
Deciding What Will Happen To A Business
Often it is best to continue with the business so that there is enough income for support, however, it is important to decide who will be operating the business. More often than not, if only one spouse ran the business the majority of the time, that spouse would end up with the business. However, the spouse that is not operating the business may be entitled to profits and/or spousal support.
We will make sure that the business receives a full valuation, including an income valuation to determine the spouse’s income from the business, by using experienced professionals, and determine what your share of the company is worth.
Long-Term Spousal Support
Long-term spousal support usually refers to spousal support when parties have been married for 10 years or more. People mistakenly believe that just because you have been married for 10 years or more you will have to pay spousal support for life. This is not necessarily true.
Unlike short-term divorces (10 years or less), where the court usually awards spousal support for half the length of the marriage, in long-term marriages, the court retains jurisdiction over spousal support. Retaining jurisdiction means that the court will not put an end date to support, however, either side can go back to court throughout the years to increase or decrease spousal support.
If you are going through a divorce and will be requesting or paying spousal support, it is important to hire experienced attorneys who can evaluate your situation, especially when you consider the fact that there will most likely be two households that need to be maintained.
We help with both sides of spousal support requests. Our team will carefully evaluate your situation to learn what may happen in your case. We make sure that you know exactly what will happen with your finances after a divorce is final so that you can be prepared to take the next steps.
Seeking The Best Possible Outcome On Your Behalf
Contact our office in San Diego to discuss your high net worth questions with a lawyer. We offer a no-obligation preliminary consultation to all new clients. We listen carefully to your concerns and fully explain your legal options. You can contact us by calling (619) 238-0616 or completing our online intake form to schedule an appointment with a San Diego high asset divorce attorney who can help you.