Technically, all divorces litigated in Texas are subject to the same laws. There are not different property division rules for high-asset couples as opposed to working-class and middle-class spouses.
However, the divorce process can be infinitely more complex in cases involving high-income individuals with a high-asset marital estate. Those contemplating divorce and those responding to a spouse’s recent filing need to understand the basics of the process in order to protect themselves.
Gather documentation early
Spouses with more marital property tend to have more diversified assets. It can take much longer to gather financial records and ownership paperwork. People may need to be in that process as early as possible.
Reviewing the details of one’s marital estate can help people roughly estimate the overall value of marital property. Spouses may need assistance determining what resources are marital and what may be separate. Ownership records could establish that an individual owned assets before marriage or inherited them, which might make them separate property.
Prenuptial agreements could also potentially influence the property division process. Spouses either need to settle with one another or wait for a judge to apply the community property division statute, which involves an equitable distribution of assets, not always a 50/50 split.
Check for disparities
A thorough financial review is often necessary in a high-asset divorce. After all, there are more opportunities to hide and undervalue marital property. Spouses may require the support of an attorney and a forensic accountant when evaluating the disclosures made by their spouses.
If they can find evidence of hidden or undervalued assets, they can present that information to the courts to hold their spouses accountable. Spouses can also potentially request that the courts consider acts of dissipation, such as giving away assets or otherwise wasting marital resources.
Avoid financial misconduct
While it may be tempting to consider hiding money or physical property, those choices can come back to haunt people later in a high-asset divorce. Although marital misconduct typically does not influence the division of community property, misconduct during the divorce may alter how the courts address property division and even financial support requests.
People should avoid wasting and destroying marital property or intentionally hiding assets from their spouses or the courts. Leaving a job as a way of diminishing earning potential and undermining support requests can also backfire.
Partnering with a lawyer who has experience handling high-asset divorces can be of the utmost importance. People who have realistic expectations, proper support and the knowledge to avoid common pitfalls can potentially extricate themselves from an unhappy marriage while incurring only minimal collateral damage.