While investing can be an extremely profitable means of earning passive income, it can also create difficulties for couples who decide to dissolve their marriage. This is because investments entered into after a marriage takes place, whether they take the form of ownership in a business interest, or the ownership of stocks, bonds, or a retirement fund, must be accounted for and divided upon the dissolution of a marriage. This can cause a number of complications, especially for those who are not represented by an experienced high asset divorce lawyer who can take steps to ensure that the property division process goes as smoothly and quickly as possible.

Assessing Your Options

Whether a couple invests in the stock market, cryptocurrency, or real estate, they will need to address who will retain ownership of those assets before a divorce can be finalized. This can make an already difficult process much more complicated. Fortunately, there are certain options and strategies that can help couples protect themselves during the divorce process, not only emotionally, but also financially.

For instance, many couples with significant assets who decide to divorce attempt the collaborative divorce process, which can help minimize conflict through the pursuit of open and honest communication in an out-of-court setting. Collaborative divorces also help ensure that couples are able to decide the fate of their own property. Alternatively, couples could also choose to attempt mediation, or could even enter into a post-nuptial agreement regarding property division, which is a popular option for those who believe that their marriages are in trouble, but have not yet committed to divorce.

Dissolving a marriage does not necessarily have to be contentious. In fact, many couples are able to come to decisions regarding custody, child support, and property division without a judge’s intervention. When this is possible, it can significantly cut down on expenses, save time, and help protect children from the more emotional aspects of divorce. Mediation is one of the best ways to achieve this type of result, so if you and your spouse are both focused on an amicable divorce, please contact a member of our experienced divorce legal team to learn more about your options.

What Does the Mediation Process Involve?

Mediations are one of the most popular methods of negotiating a divorce settlement and involve a meeting between both parties, their respective lawyers, and a neutral third party. This third party, known as a mediator, is tasked with helping couples resolve the following kinds of issues by facilitating discussion and negotiation:

There have been numerous studies done regarding the effects that divorce has on children. Several studies have concluded the negative impact parents breaking up have on children. However, a new study has found that it is actually children of high asset divorces who suffer the most from their parents' breakup.

A team of researchers from Georgetown University and the University of Chicago analyzed data that was taken from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). That federal survey initiated in 1979 in order to examine how children are affected by family changes, such as divorce or separation. In 1986, the NLSY survey team also began assessing children born to women who were participating in the survey. The women were asked questions to determine the socio-economic state of their children. The assessments were conducted every other year until 2008, when the children reached 12 years of age.

The research team for the new study examined the NLSY data of approximately 4,000 children. The children were broken up into groups by income. High-income children were those that were living 300 percent above the federal poverty level. There were also a group for medium-income and low-income families.