Posted on January 31, 2015 in High Asset Divorce

Society today exhibits an insatiable appetite to learn the details of the lives of those who are in the public eye—be they celebrities, professional athletes, or high-powered business executives. This is evident by the number of tabloids one can find at any supermarket checkout, with headlines screaming rumors and innuendos. This type of invasion of privacy can also occur for couples who are going through a high-asset divorce in Texas.

Too often, details of an acrimonious divorce and/or child custody negotiations are somehow leaked to the media. Details of alleged extra-marital affairs, sexually transmitted diseases, domestic violence, and other situations that can destroy careers suddenly become fodder for the press. Couples need to be fully aware that the documents and details of their divorce will eventually make their way to the public.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 23, 2015 in High Asset Divorce

Hiding assets from another spouse is an all too common scenario in high-asset divorces. Often, the offending spouse feels he or she is entitled to those assets and the other spouse is not. Hiding assets in a divorce is against the law; however, even that fact does not deter an unscrupulous spouse from keeping the other spouse from his or her fair share of a marital estate.

In many cases, this attempt of hiding assets is discovered during the divorce, often through the discovery process or with the aid of forensic accountants, however, there are also cases where the offending spouse succeeds in hiding the assets and they are not included in the final marital estate division.

If you have discovered that your ex-spouse hid assets during your complex divorce case, there is a good chance that you may still be able to recover what should have been legally awarded to you. The state of Texas has a legal statute which allows an ex-spouse to recoup undisclosed assets. The law is called Suit to Divide Undivided Property and is part of the Texas Family Code.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 16, 2015 in High Asset Divorce

Couples going through high-asset divorces are often faced with complex property decisions, and this is especially true for Texans in high-asset divorces. Texas is a community-property state; hence, any property purchased during a marriage is part of the marital estate and is subject to being divided. Therefore, it is important to consider how a divorcing couple's real estate may be divided.

In order to determine that division, the worth of the property must be determined. Typically this is done by a real estate appraiser who bases his or her findings on the current market value. Financial advisors point out that it is important for couples in the process of a high-asset divorce to understand how real estate appraisals work.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 09, 2015 in Divorce

According to a recent study, the more money a couple makes, the less likely they are to divorce. However, when couples who do have a lot of assets decide to divorce, the result often involves complex litigation regarding child custody and support, spousal support, and asset and property division.

The study, conducted by researchers from the Department of Economics at Emory University in Atlanta, took data that was collected for a different study. In the Emory University study, there were 3,000 participants. All of the participants had been married at least once, after 2008. Participants were asked dozens of questions about their marriages, including the length of time they dated their spouse, age of marriage, engagement ring, wedding and honeymoon expenses, and the duration of the marriage.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on December 31, 2014 in Divorce

In Texas, there are two ways to file for a high-asset divorce—either via fault or no-fault. A no-fault divorce is one in which neither party is being cited for causing the breakup of a marriage. However, if a spouse files for a divorce based on the "fault" of the other spouse, he or she may use one of the following as grounds:

• Cruelty;
• Adultery;
• Conviction of a felony (with a minimum one-year prison sentence); abandonment (for at least one year); living apart (for at least three years); or,
• A spouse has been committed to a mental institution with no hope of recovery.

In many high-asset divorces, adultery is often the grounds for which a spouse will file for divorce. In order to claim adultery, however, there must be proof of infidelity. Moreover, there are several methods available to track an untrustworthy spouse, including hiring a private investigator and using computer software to monitor a spouse's emails, social media accounts, and other computer use.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on December 19, 2014 in Child Custody

There are many decisions that need to be made when going through a high-asset divorce. Various key issues that divorcing couples face include child custody and support, property and asset division, and spousal support. In addition, even the most "friendly" divorces can suddenly turn contentious when one of these high-priority issues reveal a couple is on opposite ends of the agreement spectrum. Hence, it is critical to consult an aggressive attorney who is experienced in complex divorces.

It is also critical to communicate clearly with your high-asset divorce attorney. He or she is there to represent you, so it is important to articulate your exact wishes. Make sure your attorney is aware of what you feel is appropriate when it comes to equitable distribution of a marital estate and spousal support. Also, it is okay to say "no" to a suggestion your attorney makes, after carefully considering what he or she suggests. Share your reasons why you feel the suggestion is not the right course of action for you. But remember, the whole key to negotiating is that you often have to give up something in order to receive something else you want more.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on December 12, 2014 in Divorce

When a person goes through a high-asset divorce, there are always adjustments that will need to be made—both personally and financially. This can be particularly true if one spouse was the primary or sole breadwinner in the family and the majority of the couple's income came from that spouse's earnings.

Traditionally, it is the wife who may be hardest hit financially after a high-asset divorce. Statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that women only earn 77 cents to every dollar that is earned by men. After divorce, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a woman's income decreases by almost 40 percent. This can exacerbate an already stressful economic situation.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on December 05, 2014 in Complex Divorce

It is all too common, especially in a high-asset divorce, for one spouse to attempt to hide assets and property from the other spouse in an effort to deprive that spouse of his or her fair share of the marital estate. According to one survey, in two out of three marriages, at least one spouse is hiding assets from the other.

Typically, a spouse who is hiding the assets implemented a plan to do so long before the decision to divorce was "official" between the two. This deception can be done in a number of ways, including transferring assets in other family members or friends names, secret accounts, and safe deposit boxes. It was not so long ago that trying to uncover hidden assets was almost impossible; however, with the technology available today, as well as required legal documentation because of federal laws such as the Patriot Act, it is almost impossible to not leave some kind of electronic footprint of asset transfers.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 28, 2014 in High Asset Divorce

When involved in a high-asset divorce, there are key issues which top the list of importance. Child custody may be number one if a divorcing couple has young children. However, for divorcing couples who either do not have children or have children who are grown, their number one priority often involves finances.

Texas is a community property state. This means that all property a couple has acquired during their marriage needs to be split evenly between the two spouses. Additionally, besides the usual bank accounts, divorcing couples involved in a high-asset divorce may own assets such as stocks, professional practices or businesses, various trust accounts, retirement plans, and insurance plans. Couples may have multiple properties in differing states or in foreign countries, as well as antiques, art, and other expensive collections. All of these items make up the marital estate and need to be evenly divided between the two spouses.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 21, 2014 in Child Support

When married parents are going through a high-asset divorce, two issues that need to be decided are child custody and support. Depending on what the parties agree to, and/or what the court decides, the parent who typically has less physical time with the child will be responsible for paying child support.

The purpose of child support is to ensure that both parents are contributing to the financial care and cost of raising the child. Unfortunately, and all too common, the parent who is ordered to pay the child support does not see it that way, but instead sees it as money he or she is paying to their ex-spouse. For various reasons, the paying parent does not, or will not, accept that it is their duty as a parent to contribute to the child's financial needs.

Continue Reading ››