High-Asset Divorce Attorneys

Your Separate Property

Those assets that both or either of you brought into the marriage with you – and kept separate throughout the intervening years – will remain your separate property that will follow you into divorce. There is also plenty of room here, however, to encounter complications. For example, if your spouse brought a small business into the marriage and grew it into an empire over the course of your marriage, that increase in value will very likely be considered marital property (especially if he or she ran the business throughout your marriage) – to be split equitably. This is generally true whether you worked for or contributed to the business directly or not. If you did work for and/or contribute to the business’s growth, however, it can further muddy the water.

Complicating Factors

Assets and properties that have significant value generally need asset valuations, which include considerable evidence procurement. In fact, the act of obtaining a valuation that you are both willing to sign off on can be exceptionally difficult in and of itself. Some of the assets that tend to seriously complicate the division of marital property include:

• Investments in commercial real estate
• Ownership of farm property
• Complicated financial holdings
• An extensive financial portfolio
• Ownership of a closely held corporation or professional practice

Suffice to say that when it comes to high-asset divorce, there is a good deal of work to be done to help ensure that your financial rights are well protected – and there is also a good deal more wiggle room when it comes to financial shenanigans. All told, you are well-advised to work closely with an experienced Ohio high-asset divorce attorney.