The more assets that couples share with each other, the more likely they are to experience a significant dispute about the division of their property during a divorce. People who have enjoyed a higher standard of living during their marriage have higher expectations for the outcome of their divorces, in many cases.
High-net worth couples that are facing a high-asset divorce may need to prepare for longer negotiations and more costly divorce proceedings than the average couple. There are numerous challenges that may be a bigger concern in a high Florida divorce than there are in re: a working-class family law matter.
1. Hidden assets
The more property that couples acquired during a marriage, the more opportunities the spouses will have to potentially hide resources from one another and the courts. People who want to retain certain property may lie about their holdings.
High-asset divorces may lead to one spouse funneling money away from marital accounts into a secret fund that they do not disclose to the courts. One spouse might also grossly misrepresent the financial value of their personal property in the divorce or move actual possessions out of the marital home in the hopes that their spouse won’t notice they’ve gone missing.
2. Asset dissipation
When couples have more property to share, they want to waste shared resources and reduce how much they divide in the divorce. Dissipation could look like going on a shopping spree and maxing out the shared credit cards two days before filing for divorce. It could also look like spending thousands of dollars on travel and gifts while conducting an affair.
3. Support disagreements
Maybe one spouse left the workforce to raise the couple’s children, or perhaps they still have young children who will require a lot of time and effort for the next few years. The higher standard of living in high-asset divorces can make it much more difficult for spouses to reach a viable agreement about spousal support or child support.
Couples that have more shared resources can generally expect higher levels of conflict and a greater likelihood of financial misconduct on the part of their spouse during the divorce process. Learning about the issues that could complicate a high-asset divorce can help those preparing for family court spot warning signs of misconduct and other concerning potential challenges that an attorney will need to work to address.