High Asset Divorce

What are the Assets and Their Values?

You know what you know, and don't know what you don't know. If you're moving into a divorce with substantial assets you need a lawyer that understands complicated divorces.

In a divorce in Georgia, both parties must disclose all finances and assets for consideration of equitable distribution. Failure to disclose or hiding assets is not an unusual occurrence. Sometimes, one spouse may overstate their contribution to a family business. The reality is, when it comes to money, not everyone plays by the rules.

As your divorce lawyers, we can take steps to identify and valuate assets and holdings that affect an optimal outcome in your divorce. Here's just part of what we can do for you:

Divorce Involving a Business

A divorce involving a family business can become very heated. Often, the livlihood of both parties is tied to the income generated by the business. Spouses usually disagree on their individual contributions to starting, building, and managing the business. Just because you're getting a divorce it doesn't mean you will lose your business. As your divorce law firm, we will apply our experience and resources to get you the best possible results.

What is a fair share? In some situations the spouses may work together in the business, and be able to continue on doing so. In other cases their may be a need to assess the value of the business, and one spouse effectively buys out the other owner. Laws on equitable distribution, relative to the overall property division, can greatly affect the financial division of the business.

Divorce with Substantial Investments

High asset divorces usually involve numerous types of accounts, physical property, and other forms of investment. Our experience in managing complicated divorces is a unique advantage we have over over local divorce law firms.

For example, most divorce law firms focus on arguing over the percentage of each asset they get for their client. Our approach is to learn about your position and objectives. We may find that you need liquid assets versus accounts where funds cannot be readily accessed. We may find that changing certain assets could cause a serious tax liability. Our goal is to get you in the best possible financial situation and protect you from taking hits.

Expert Appraisers - Don't Get Cheated

Our law firm can retain the services of a professional appraiser to obtain a fair market value of any asset. We know specialists that can assess the reasonable and proper value of a business, investment portfolios, retirement accounts, pensions, other financial holdings.

Third-party appraisers are often used when spouses disagree over the value of an asset. The party pursuing the asset may try to under-value the asset to acquire it for less than fair market value. The party separating from the asset may over-value the asset to litigate for more money in the Settlement. We know how the game is played, and will strenuously represent you throughout civil litigation, up to and including anything pushed in front of a civil court judge.

Forensic Accountants are another tool we may utilize. If you suspect that your spouse is hiding or otherwise failed to disclose assets our team can often uncover hidden assets. A forensic accountant can analyze financial data, tax filings, bank statements, and more to identify hidden assets or income. And yes, a forensic accountant’s analysis is admissible in court as proof to deception of net worth. This alone can be a huge game-changer in how a judge looks at your case.

QDRO - the smart way to transfer funds

Our divorce attorneys know how to fully handle financial matters in a divorce. Whether it's transferring property titles or transferring funds, we can do what you need. Relative to funds in certain accounts (i.e. 401K, IRA, retirement accounts, etc.) you may need a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). A QDRO can mitigate potential tax liabilities from moving funds from accounts with legal restrictions on withdrawals. Why would you needlessly lose money by paying penalties and taxes?

Let our lawyers deliver to you the best financial outcome in your divorce. For a FREE Consultation call us at 770-956-1400.