Fairfax High Net Worth Divorce Lawyer

Pre-Nuptial Agreements

The role of a pre-nuptial agreement would be the same as it would be in any divorce. However, oftentimes, parties who have a high net worth going into the marriage are more likely to have pre-nuptial agreements because they want to protect what they brought into the marriage. But similar to any other pre-nuptial agreement and divorce, a pre-nuptial agreement would have the effect of determining how certain issues are going to be resolved based on the provisions set forth in the pre-nuptial agreement.

Case Factors

In the context of divorce, joint net worth is the net worth that is determined by valuing the assets that are marital. There are a variety of important factors to keep in mind in high net worth cases. Alternatively, individual net worth might simply encompass separate property.

The couple’s primary residence is, in most cases, a marital asset. In order to determine the value of that to the parties, they need to determine the equity that exists in that property.  That equity will then be divided either by the parties or by the court just as any other item of marital property would be divided in the divorce.

Role of Mediation, Arbitration, and Litigation

Litigation is the approach if there are any issues that cannot be resolved by agreement between parties. However, mediation is an even more useful tool for parties with high net worth divorces, particularly if there is a wide range of assets owned by the parties because there are a lot of details that the parties may be able to hammer out between them in mediation related to these assets that a court might not have the time to be bothered with.

For example, if the parties owned numerous properties and utilized those properties as a source of income, the court may say, “divide the equity”. If the parties are able to agree how they are going to be divided, not only do they have the benefit of assigning certain properties to one spouse and certain properties to the other, but they also have the freedom to deal with the more minute details, such as how is the management of the marital property going to be conveyed smoothly from the husband to the wife, or from the wife to the husband.

These details are things that the court is not always going to get involved in, and for that reason, mediation is even more of an important tool in a high net worth divorce in Fairfax than it is in a typical divorce.

Unequal Distribution of Assets

It is quite often the case in high net-worth divorces that, even if the parties are just negotiating directly or preparing to litigate, the attorneys will involve other professionals to advise their clients about certain aspects of the assets and the divorce. For example, if the parties have a lot of property, then it could be incredibly important to involve an accountant or another tax expert to advise their clients on the tax implications of various possible settlement scenarios. Attorneys in Fairfax dealing with high net worth divorces will, more often than not, involve other professionals with their own areas of expertise in creating a team of people to advise the client on what are the more advisable outcomes and the less desirable outcomes of that case.