High Net Worth Divorce Lawyer St. Louis, MO

High Net Worth

You’ve spent years accumulating wealth with your spouse. Perhaps one of you has taken the role of the breadwinner, and the other has dedicated their life to raising your children and maintaining the household. Maybe both of you have had successful careers, whether separately or in a shared business venture.

But in the event that you decide it’s time for a divorce, things are never really as simple as you might assume. And when a divorce involves significant assets, it can start to feel impossible to navigate.

If you’ve found yourself in such a situation, having the right divorce attorney by your side is particularly crucial. At the Law Office of Amy L. Gervich in Missouri, we have the experience necessary to protect your financial interests and support you every step of the way. When you need a highly-qualified high net worth lawyer to handle your divorce, you can trust our team.

What Makes a High-Net-Worth Divorce Different?

There are many different ways in which having significant assets can make a divorce more complicated especially for affluent clients. Some of the most notable ones include the following:

Valuing Assets Is a Challenge

In a divorce where both parties maintain a modest income, the assets to be divided are generally not too complex. There may be a home, vehicles, and a few savings or investment accounts.

However, when you have a complex array of assets, one that includes businesses, high-end art, real estate properties, stocks, high-end cars and boats, and other immensely valuable items, getting an accurate valuation for all of them can prove difficult. Stock portfolios and other kinds of investments can also fluctuate in value, complicating things even further.

Some Assets Are Harder to Divide

In many cases, a divorcing couple will sell an asset, like their home, and split the proceeds. However, some assets are much harder to divide. For instance, if the couple owns a successful business, they likely won’t want to sell it upon their divorce. It can be very challenging to determine how different kinds of business interests should be divided, making division of asset negotiations very drawn out as a result.

Similarly, it can be very complicated to determine how to divide items that are both valuable and sentimental. Art collections, antique furniture, and one-of-a-kind objects can cause serious contention if the couple can’t agree on their divisions.

Taxes Can Be Complicated

Depending on things like spousal and child support agreements alongside other factors, the tax implications of a high-net-worth divorce can be quite lofty. Even if your divorce is perfectly amicable and you and your spouse can easily agree to a division of assets, it’s still wise to have the guidance of an attorney. When you work with us, we can offer advice on how to minimize the tax consequences of your divorce.

Handling Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements Can Be Difficult

In many cases, high-asset marriages begin with pre- or postnuptial agreements. However, many people don’t realize that these kinds of agreements don’t always stand up in court. It’s not at all unusual for an agreement to be closely examined by the court, being especially careful to make sure that neither spouse was coerced into signing. Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are routinely challenged, as well, especially when significant assets are involved.

How Can a High Net Worth Divorce Attorney Help?

When there are significant assets at stake in a divorce, having the right legal representation is imperative. Here’s a look at how our team acting as your dedicated high net worth attorney, can protect your interests and support you through the process.

Accounting for All of Your Assets

It might sound like an obvious step to take, but your attorney can work to uncover any hidden assets. Even if your spouse isn’t deliberately hiding assets from you, their attorney may have missed a few things when evaluating assets.

Your legal team can also make sure all of your assets are accurately appraised. If your assets aren’t accurately valued, you might end up short-changed when it comes time to divide them.

Protecting Your Finances

Accounting for your assets is an important part of the divorce process. However, dividing those assets is often one of the most emotionally charged parts of a divorce. While it’s important to make sure that both spouses receive a fair share of assets, it’s also important to make sure you aren’t being taken advantage of. Our team will protect your interests and work to make sure you receive the portion of assets you’re entitled to.

Negotiating Spousal Support

Whether you’re the spouse who will be paying support or the one receiving it, an attorney can advocate for you. There’s no singular formula for determining how much spousal support should be paid, but typically, the following factors are taken into account:

The length of your marriage
The future earning potential of both spouses
Whether one spouse contributed to the career success of the other
The kind of lifestyle you led during the marriage
The terms of any child custody agreement in place

When both sides negotiate spousal support, they need to decide on two factors: how much will be paid and the duration of those payments. In a high-net-worth divorce, the higher-earning spouse may choose to pay their support in a single lump sum.

Attempting to Minimize Litigation

High-net-worth divorces are complex, and that complexity often means they take a long time. On top of that, if the terms of your divorce must be decided in a courtroom, litigation costs can be astronomical.

Though we might not be able to eliminate the need for litigation, our team will make every effort to use alternative dispute resolution strategies. Collaborative divorce is one strategy that is often helpful, especially if your split is an amicable one. Mediation can also be useful, especially if the divorce is contentious but not to the point that it needs to be decided by a court.

Of course, each of these options comes with its pros and cons. At the Law Office of Amy L. Gervich, we never lose sight of the fact that our relationship with you is a collaborative one. We can offer recommendations as to which dispute resolution strategy is best, but above all, the decision is yours.

Navigating Child Custody and Support

If you and your spouse have young children, your divorce will also need to address the issues of both child custody and support. Divorce is already logistically, financially, and emotionally trying, but when children are involved, these tribulations are only compounded.

In determining custody arrangements, both parents’ needs and wants will be considered, but the end goal is to protect the best interests of the child. If there’s a discrepancy in both of your incomes, child support payments will likely be an important factor as well. Throughout the process, our team can advocate for you to protect both your parental rights and your financial rights.

Let Us Help You Protect Your Assets

At the Law Office of Amy L. Gervich, we understand the unique complications that come with going through a high-net-worth divorce. When you’re trying to protect your assets, you need an attorney who has helped people in your exact situation. Our legal team has helped countless people navigate the high-stakes nature of divorces like these.

If you’re in the midst of a high-net-worth divorce or are preparing to begin one, don’t hesitate to call us at 314-725-7901 or reach out to us online for a free consultation.

St. Louis High Net Worth Divorce Lawyer