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Splitting Business Assets During a High Asset Divorce
One of the most difficult components of many high asset divorces involves the division of business assets. Although having a pre or postnuptial agreement can make this process much simpler, not all couples enter into these types of agreements, which means that either a court or the parties themselves will need to decide how any business interests will be split. To ensure that the division of your marital assets, including any business interests, is fair and equitable, please contact an experienced high asset divorce attorney who is well-versed in Texas law and can advise you accordingly.
Is There a Premarital Agreement?
If a couple entered into a premarital agreement and one of the parties already owned a business at the time, then the fate of that company in the event of divorce should have been included in the agreement. In these cases, how the business’ assets will be divided depends on the terms of the agreement, which could mean a number of different things. For instance, the parties might have previously agreed that the entire company would go to one spouse in the event of divorce, or that both would receive an equal share.
Tax Strategies That Could Simplify Your High Asset Divorce
The tax reform laws that went into effect early last year have had a significant impact on American taxpayers, especially couples with diverse or valuable assets who are attempting to obtain a divorce. Fortunately, there are a few tax strategies that can help divorcing couples reach a settlement agreement that is in all parties’ best interests. For help navigating your own complex divorce, please contact a dedicated high asset divorce lawyer who has the resources and experience to assist and advise you.
Selling the Family Home
Spouses who have made the decision to file for divorce are encouraged to take a number of steps that could assist them with their tax situation following the dissolution of their marriage. Selling the family home, for instance, can save couples a significant amount of money following divorce. This is largely due to the fact that property taxes are now no longer fully deductible, which means that if one party retains the family home, he or she could end up with a much higher property tax payment that in previous years. Similarly, selling secondary real estate or vacation homes can help couples consolidate their funds and secure their financial future going forward.
The Complications that Could Arise During Your Own High Asset Divorce
While ending a marriage is always a complicated process, certain types of divorces are notorious for being especially difficult. Couples with significant, unique, and diverse assets, for instance, often face more difficulties when it comes to accounting for and dividing up marital assets when dissolving a legal union. Fortunately, many of these problems can be avoided if the parties involved retain experienced high asset divorce attorneys who can ensure that their divorce is resolved as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
Identifying Assets
There are a number of complications that can arise during any divorce. Some, however, are particularly common in high asset divorces. Dividing marital property, for instance, tends to be much more difficult for couples with significant assets. This is largely due to the fact that a couple’s finances become more complicated as wealth is amassed. As a result, accounting for the many forms of property, which could range from real estate and business interests to stocks and other investments, can become a complex process. For these reasons, couples with significant assets are often encouraged to retain a forensic accountant who can help them track down all of their financial holdings, which in turn, can help ensure that any property settlements reached by the parties will be as fair as possible.
Using Cryptocurrency to Hide Assets
Cryptocurrency, or virtual currency, has existed in one form or another since 2009, but has become a much more mainstream investment over the last few years. While it is true that investing in cryptocurrency can be a lucrative endeavor, it can also make for a difficult and lengthy property division process for couples who later decide to divorce. For instance, it is becoming increasingly common for one spouse to use cryptocurrency as a means of hiding assets from the other during the divorce process.
Fortunately, there are ways to prevent this type of behavior, which is unlawful under Texas law, so if you and your spouse have decided to file for divorce and you have questions or concerns about how your marital assets will be divided, you should strongly consider contacting an experienced high asset divorce lawyer who can ensure that you reach a fair and equitable settlement.
Do Not Forget About the Capital Gains Tax During Your High Asset Divorce
Although dissolving a marriage always has the potential to be a complicated process, high asset divorces tend to be particularly difficult to resolve. This is largely due to the fact that the property division portion of high asset divorces is often extremely complex, as couples are required to take into account the significant tax implications of any settlement agreements. For instance, some of the most notable tax liabilities for which many high net worth couples should, but often fail to account for are capital gains assessed on the sale of the family home.
An experienced high asset divorce attorney can be instrumental in helping divorcing couples identify and limit exposure to potential tax liabilities, so if you and your spouse have decided to file for divorce, it is critical to contact an experienced high asset divorce lawyer who can ensure that your financial interests are protected.
What Is the Capital Gains Tax Exemption?
The Importance of Documenting Your Marital Assets During Divorce
Finance-related issues are often the biggest source of conflict amongst divorcing couples, something that is especially true for couples with a high net worth who own unique, significant, rare, or particularly valuable assets. In these cases, conflicts can quickly escalate, derailing negotiations and resulting in months or even years of litigation. Fortunately, high asset divorces don’t have to be accompanied by conflict and disagreement, as there are a number of important steps that couples can take to help their divorce move towards amicable relations and a secure financial future for both parties. For help ensuring that your own divorce goes as smoothly as possible, it is critical to speak with an experienced high asset divorce lawyer who can advise and assist you.
Obtaining a Clear Picture of Your Asset Portfolio
Valuing the Active Appreciation of Your Business
Even individuals who take great care when identifying, categorizing, and appraising assets during the divorce process, can overlook things that could impact their financial well-being down the road. This is especially common in cases where couples own particularly unique or valuable assets, such as a business interest, so if you fall under this category, it is important to consult with an experienced high asset divorce lawyer who can ensure that your interests are protected.
Protecting Your Business
Under Texas law, property and assets obtained by a couple before marriage are not considered marital property and so are not subject to division upon divorce. While this legal practice can be used as a form of protecting one’s assets, it should not be the only source of protection for those who own a business interest. This is largely due to the fact that even if a business was created before a person’s marriage, it could still be impacted by divorce, especially if the company is successful and growing and the other spouse had a hand in the business’s increased value. In these cases, the non-owner spouse could be awarded a portion of the increase, or appreciation, in value, which could be a considerable amount if the business owner was just starting out at the time of the marriage, and the business has since become successful.
What Will Happen to My Inheritance if I File for Divorce?
Texas residents who file for divorce and who are unable to come to an agreement regarding how their assets will be divided are often concerned about how their inherited assets will be handled by the court during the process of property division. While it is true that for the most part, inheritances that are left to only one spouse during a marriage are considered the separate property of that spouse, this is not always the case. For help determining whether your own inheritance could be divided between you and your soon-to-be former spouse upon divorce, please contact our dedicated high asset divorce legal team today.
What Is Separate Property?
Texas is a community property state, which means that during divorce, all of a couple’s marital property must be divided equally. For this reason, determining which assets qualify as marital and which are considered separate is extremely important to the results of the property division process. Marital property is made up of assets accumulated by the couple during the marriage, regardless of which spouse purchased or acquired them. The term separate property, on the other hand, refers to assets that the parties brought into the marriage.
Where to Look for Hidden Assets During Your High Asset Divorce
All divorce proceedings are complex and potentially emotional for the parties involved. High asset divorces, however, tend to come with their own set of unique issues. For instance, hiding assets is much more common in divorces where one or both spouses have significant, unique, diverse, or particularly valuable assets. Fortunately, there are steps that divorcing parties can take to ensure that their spouses are not attempting to hide assets, so if you and your spouse have decided to file for divorce and you are concerned that he or she may be attempting to hide or waste assets, it is critical to speak with an experienced high asset divorce attorney who can explain these steps to you and ensure that your property is protected.
Most Common Methods of Hiding Assets During Divorce
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for one spouse to try and hide assets from the other during divorce by utilizing one or more of the following methods:
The Importance of Valuation Dates During the Property Division Process
There are a number of issues that couples must address before a court will finalize their divorce, one of which is how their marital property, or the assets that were acquired during the marriage, should be divided. Under Texas law, divorcing couples must divide their marital assets in a fair and equitable way, an endeavor that is only possible if the parties have a thorough understanding of the current monetary value of the assets in question, which can vary significantly depending on the date that is chosen for valuation.
Determining an asset’s valuation date can be a difficult and often contentious process, so if you and your spouse have decided to file for divorce and own unique or valuable marital assets, it is important to contact an experienced high asset divorce lawyer who can ensure that those assets are properly appraised and divided fairly upon the finalization of your divorce.
Establishing Value
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