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Divorce is among the most stressful events a person can experience in their lifetime. The severing of a marital bond strikes at emotions as it disrupts daily routines, future plans, and the sense of familial security. The divorce process itself can multiply the stress, particularly when the relationship involves significant assets.
If you’re facing a divorce and you and your spouse individually own or share substantial assets, such as bank and investment accounts, real estate, or a business, you may need to work with a high-net-worth divorce attorney to get your affairs in order.
Grant, Miller & Smith, LLC, can provide the counsel and representation you need to efficiently resolve any disputes that may arise in your divorce proceedings. Our skilled attorneys will devise a strategy that protects your assets and financial future.
Let’s explore some of the key aspects of a high-net-worth divorce, including what sets them apart from the average divorce, the unique challenges they present, and the critical role attorneys play in these types of separations.
While the same divorce laws and rules generally apply to all married couples, dividing up the wealth can add an extra layer of complexity and increase the odds of contention. This element is what differentiates a high-net-worth divorce from a more conventional divorce.
The complexity directly correlates with the vastness and value of the marital assets; the contention emerges as the pair tries to negotiate how those assets will be divided. In these situations, it’s essential to rely on specialists, including legal professionals with experience overseeing high-asset divorces.
In Missouri, the court takes an equitable distribution approach when dividing marital assets in divorce cases, placing an emphasis on an arrangement that’s fair and reasonable to both spouses.
In other words, a settlement may divide marital assets down the middle, or it may not. If the couple has debts, the court will often divide them the same way it does assets.
The marital assets in a high net worth divorce are substantial in both scope and monetary value, often being worth anywhere from hundreds of thousands to multiple millions of dollars. They may encompass the following:
With the assistance of forensic accountants, a high-net-worth or complex divorce attorney will identify these assets and investigate whether any others are being hidden or disguised by one spouse in Missouri, out of state, or overseas.
Just before or during a divorce, one spouse may go on a spending splurge to obtain assets and then conceal them. If they’re caught, the marital accounts may be frozen to prevent further misuse.
Another potential consequence of this deceptive action is that the spouse who hid the assets could face charges for nondisclosure and lying under oath. Although disguising and hiding assets can have an enormous impact on a divorce case, many unscrupulous divorcees continue to use the tactic.
A high-net-worth divorce attorney will work with appraisers or valuation experts to identify the value and location of all marital assets, including residences, real estate property, vacation homes, businesses, collectibles, and motor vehicles.
Not every possession the spouses hold qualifies as a marital asset and can therefore be figured into the division of assets. Notable exclusions include inheritances, property or businesses acquired prior to the marriage, gifts that one spouse gave to the other, and any assets noted as off-limits in a premarital agreement.
Missouri’s Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations establishes the child support amount a parent owes based on the number of children and the couple’s combined adjusted gross income. While the court rarely diverges from the schedule, it may in high-net-worth divorce cases.
The children in high-net-worth families are accustomed to a different standard of living, and their needs are seen as corresponding to their elevated lifestyle. They may include enrollment in private schools and involvement in clubs and recreational activities. The court takes those needs into account, along with the assets and income of both parents.
If one spouse has a significantly lower income or left their job to take care of the family, spousal maintenance will be crucial for providing for their lifestyle needs and maintaining the standard of living they grew accustomed to while married. Alimony is a common contentious issue in high-net-worth divorce cases.
Grant, Miller & Smith, LLC, can help you sort out the complexities of child and spousal maintenance. Our high-net-worth attorneys will guide you and your spouse toward a fair agreement to avoid leaving it up to the court.
Married couples with significant assets face unique challenges when they file for divorce, and the stakes are often high. The services of an experienced high-net-worth divorce attorney can have a considerable impact on the outcome of a case.
A high-asset divorce attorney possesses specific knowledge and skills. They’re familiar with Missouri’s divorce laws and child support and spousal maintenance guidelines, but they also understand the many factors that must be weighed when calculating the appropriate support and maintenance in these cases.
Among other duties, your attorney can identify and evaluate assets, hunt down hidden or disguised assets, and examine your premarital agreement if you have one.
High-net-worth divorces frequently demand collaborative efforts that may involve investigators, financial experts, appraisers, and lawyers from other practice areas. Our attorneys have the network and resources to bring these professionals into the case.
A high-net-worth divorce attorney can also explain the marriage dissolution options available in Missouri (collaboration, mediation, and litigation) and advise you of the approach that will best achieve your desired outcome.
With good reason, high-asset couples often prefer alternative methods of dispute resolution. This approach allows them to avoid going to court, reduces the cost of the divorce, and keeps the divorce private. Our attorneys can assist with the negotiations and help you work out a mutually beneficial agreement.
Filing for divorce doesn’t have to signal the start of a war or be a cause of undue stress.
The skilled and empathetic attorneys at Grant, Miller & Smith, LLC, aim for the middle ground to foster amiability between spouses as they part ways, particularly if children are involved. We also place special focus on efficiency to minimize costs and help our clients move forward as quickly as possible.
Our firm has decades of dedicated family law experience, which we’ll put to work for your case. We can provide valuable guidance on the terms of your property division agreement and, if you have children, the state-required parenting plan.
When you retain our team of high-net-worth divorce attorneys, we’ll take the lead on every critical filing, discussion, and procedure to ensure that your divorce is carried out as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
Grant, Miller & Smith, LLC, is based in St. Louis, but we serve clients throughout Missouri.
If you’re considering divorce and you and your spouse share substantial or complex marital assets, contact us today for a consultation. Our skilled attorneys are ready to help secure a brighter future for you and your loved ones.