High asset divorce is a complex and challenging process that requires a unique approach. In Illinois, high asset divorce cases involve significant financial assets and require expertise to navigate the legal system. This is why it is crucial to seek the help of an experienced attorney who can help you protect your financial interests as much as possible.

Dividing Assets

One of the main challenges is identifying and valuing assets. This includes everything from real estate and investments to retirement accounts and pensions. It is important to clearly understand the financial assets involved in the divorce to ensure that they are divided equitably. Businesses can be an essential asset in high asset divorce. Business owners will need to consider the value of the business and how they are willing to divide it or negotiate over it in a divorce.

Protecting Your Financial Interests

Another important aspect is protecting one’s financial interests. Pre- and postnuptial agreements can play an important role in high asset divorce, as they can provide a clear understanding of the assets and debts that each party is bringing into the marriage. Strategies such as setting up trusts or transferring assets to family members can help protect assets. Without these in place, during divorce, forensic accountants may be necessary to identify and value assets.

Divorce is hard enough, but the process can get even more complicated when high-value assets are involved. If you are getting ready to go through a high-asset divorce, there are some steps you can take to make sure that your rights and assets are protected throughout the proceedings. 

Working with a high-asset divorce lawyer is vital to help you navigate the process and the legal jargon. However, you can benefit from preparing on your end, too.

Hire An Experienced Attorney

High-asset divorces can be highly complex, and the rules surrounding them vary from state to state, so you need a lawyer who is well-versed in your local laws. Additionally, having a legal expert on your side will help ensure that any property settlements or alimony payments are fair. 

Getting a divorce will require spouses to address many different legal and financial issues, and this process can become very complicated, especially in cases where a couple has a high net worth. Sometimes, a spouse may try to take advantage of the complex nature of these proceedings and attempt to unfairly influence the division of marital property by hiding certain assets from their partner. If you believe that your spouse is concealing assets from you or is otherwise refusing to meet their legal obligations during the divorce process, you will want to work with an experienced divorce attorney to determine how to proceed.

Common Methods of Concealing Marital Assets

A spouse may attempt to hide money, property, or other assets because they do not think their former partner should receive certain items, or they may do so out of an attempt to make things more difficult for the other spouse. A person may also believe that they should receive a greater share of the marital estate because they earned the majority of the family’s income. However, attempting to illicitly claim assets outside of the standard procedures for dividing property is illegal. All of a couple’s assets, including their marital property and the separate property each spouse owns, should be disclosed during the divorce to ensure that all aspects of the couple’s financial situation are considered when dividing marital assets.

Some ways that a spouse may attempt to conceal marital property include:

Every divorce has a complex array of marital properties that must be divided between the spouses, but high asset divorces take that complexity to a different level. People going through high asset divorces often need to work with multiple financial professionals, such as appraisers and forensic accountants. These professionals are worth the expense because a mistake in a high asset divorce could cost you a significant amount of money. Here are four reasons why a high asset divorce can be more complicated than an average divorce:

1. It Can Be Difficult to Track Down All of Your Assets: A high asset divorce often has a variety of properties, such as real estate, businesses, investments, and collectibles. The properties may be spread out into accounts and locations in different states or countries. You need to be thorough in searching for marital properties so they are all accounted for in the divorce. It is possible that your spouse may be hiding assets in order to protect them.
2. Asset Valuations May Require Multiple Appraisers: Besides identifying your marital assets, it is also important to determine the value of the assets. You may need an appraiser with a specialized area of knowledge for some properties in a high asset divorce. For instance, a fine art appraiser will give you the most accurate valuation of an art collection. Other properties, such as a business, may require extensive research to determine their true values.
3. Spousal Maintenance May Be More Crucial: If one spouse makes a majority of the income in a high asset marriage, the other spouse will be more reliant on receiving spousal maintenance after a divorce. The recipient spouse can reasonably expect to maintain a similar living standard following the divorce, which may not be possible on their own. The amount of maintenance that the recipient needs may be more than what the payor wants, which can make negotiations difficult.
4. Both Sides Are More Likely to Contest the Divorce Agreement: There can be millions of dollars at stake in a high asset divorce, which neither party wants to give up. Your spouse may fight you on the value of the assets and how they should be divided. If you cannot come to an agreement on your own, you may need to take your dispute to court, where a judge will decide how the divorce agreement should be constructed.

Contact a Naperville, Illinois, Divorce Lawyer

If you are about to go through a high asset divorce, you need a lawyer who is experienced with finding hidden assets and conducting complex property valuations. A DuPage County divorce attorney at Calabrese Associates, P.C., will make sure you receive your fair share of the property in your divorce. To schedule a consultation, call 630-393-3111.

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Every divorce in Illinois follows the same laws, regardless of the couple’s net worth and how many assets they own. Still, a high asset divorce is usually more complicated than other divorces and can take longer to negotiate if you did not have the foresight to create a prenuptial agreement. However, the complexity of the division of properties does not mean you must have a contentious divorce. For instance, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had what publicly appeared to be an amicable divorce earlier this year, despite the fact that he is one of the richest people in the world. There are several keys to keeping your high asset divorce amicable:

1. Be Thorough in Your Preparations: It is difficult to trust each other during a divorce if you believe that your spouse is hiding or misrepresenting the value of assets. It is your divorce attorney’s job to identify all of your marital properties and assess their value. This process is more difficult with a high asset divorce because of the sheer volume of properties, some of which are complicated to evaluate. Properties in high asset divorces often include luxury items, multiple homes, business interests, and lucrative retirement benefits.
2. Be Fair: If you amassed your wealth through business dealings, you may be familiar with using aggressive tactics during negotiations. You should understand that divorce agreements follow different rules than business agreements. The goal is for both spouses to leave with an equitable share of assets that help them maintain a familiar standard of living. This often means that the higher-earning spouse must support the financially dependent spouse through spousal maintenance and high-value assets. Even if you believe that your spouse should become financially independent, they will need time to reach that independence.
3. Be Creative: An advantage of a high asset divorce is that there are plenty of ways for you to reach an agreement that puts you both in a strong financial position. You have options for dividing properties that other divorcees do not, such as giving yourself or your spouse assets that have more growth potential than present value. You can also mix and match your properties so that each of you is receiving something that is personally valuable. Keep an open mind to creative solutions that your divorce attorney may present to you.

Contact a DuPage County Divorce Attorney

When going through a high asset divorce, it is important to hire an attorney who is experienced in such cases. A Naperville, Illinois, divorce lawyer at Calabrese Associates, P.C., understands the complexities of a high asset divorce. Schedule a consultation by calling 630-393-3111.

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