Each divorce raises questions over the division property, the assignment of debts, the award of spousal support, and sharing retirement benefits. Reaching fair and mutually acceptable decisions regarding each of these matters becomes increasingly difficult as the shared assets and total financial worth of the divorcing couple rises. Rather than simply being an issue of more money, more problems, having significant assets complicates divorce because the marriage gives both spouses legitimate and disputable claims to ownership over the money, real estate, investments, and salable items like jewelry, cars, and houses. 

Seeking advice and representation from your own family law attorney from the start of a high-asset divorce will help you achieve your best result. One of the most important services your dedicated Ohio divorce lawyer will perform involves ensuring you receive as much information about shared and individually held assets as possible while also protecting information that state law allows you to keep confidential. 

Your legal advocate will also perform the calculations necessary to produce numbers for negotiating alimony and determining what shares of investments, businesses, real estate holdings, and retirement benefits you and your spouse can rightfully claim. The dollar amounts and percentages will vary from couple to couple and from asset to asset for each couple. Factors that go into the calculations include the length of the marriage; the current market value of a given item, account, or property; and whether the item, account, or property was purchased or maintained separately or jointly. The financial needs and earning potentials of each spouse following the divorce will also factor into the equations. One of the main reasons divorce proceedings become contentious and drawn out is that spouses disagree over the value and division of property, so making sure you have accurate and conformable analyses to back up your own negotiating positions makes a great deal of difference. 

Tax planning also looms large as an issue in high-asset divorces. Your family law attorney will explain the consequences of accepting various options for selling off property, cashing out investments, accepting and giving up the family home, and continuing to operate a business you established or acquired while married. 

A last reason to hire an Ohio divorce lawyer when ending a marriage during which large assets have been accumulated is that your soon-to-be ex will retain his or her own attorney. Representing yourself throughout a divorce proceeding is allowed under Ohio family law, but doing so is almost always a mistake. An experienced lawyer will make sure that all paperwork is completed and filed correctly, hold your spouse and his or her legal representative accountable for negotiating in good faith and following court rules, and protect you from agreeing to proposals that unfairly disadvantage you. 

To speak with an Ohio-based lawyer who has experience helping men and women achieve their best outcomes from high-asset divorces, use this online form to schedule a consultation with a member of the Edward F. Whipps & Associates legal team. You can also reach us by phone by calling (614) 461-6006.