There isn’t much of a downside to having a lot of money and property, and most Florida residents will agree that having a large bank account helps make life easier — unless, of course, you are in the midst of a high asset divorce. When it comes to asset division and divorce proceedings, the more assets you have, the more complicated the divorce process becomes.
When you consider two well-to-do spouses, each with his or her own separate career, IRA accounts, 401(k) plans, investment accounts, annuities, multiple checking and savings accounts, works of art, antiques, multiple vehicles and maybe even some investment property in other states or overseas, you can start to see how complicated a high asset divorce can get. Fortunately, professional legal, accounting, appraisal and other services are available to help high net worth spouses make their asset division process as easy as possible.
There are several extremely important areas that must be investigated during high net worth asset division proceedings. First and foremost, the divorcing person must gather a record of all of his or her assets, including marital and individual property. Sometimes, this is more difficult that it might appear — especially if the other spouse was the one who managed financial matters in the family. Once all the information pertaining to assets is gathered, then the value of the property needs to be determined. The use of expert appraisers, forensic accountants, and tax accountants could play valuable roles in this process. Preferably, both spouses can reach an out of court settlement agreement regarding asset division based on this information, but if they cannot, then it will be necessary to litigate the matter in court.
At Thompson Family Law, PA, we are passionate about effectively and efficiently managing the asset division process for divorcing Florida spouses. Indeed, there is nothing we enjoy more than to take the burden of stress off our clients’ shoulders, while protecting their property rights and ensuring that they are fairly treated in their divorce proceedings.
