Shocking Facts About the Division of Property

1
Shocking Facts About the Division of Property
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS

• High Net worth Divorce Shocking Facts to Know
  About the Division of Property
• Taxes Are Very Important
• Divorce And The Business
• A Fair Child Support Order May Require More Than
  What You Think
• You Can Prevent Your Spouse From Depleting Your
  Assets Once You File For Divorce
• Property And Investment Consideration
• How Much Does It Cost To Hire And Retain A
  Divorce Attorney?
• Hourly Rates
• So, what is the average total cost of hiring a
  divorce attorney?
• Factors Affecting Divorce Lawyers Fees
• Basic Stages of a Divorce Mediation Process
• Introduction Stage 
• Private And Joint Sessions 
• Framing Stage
• Negotiation Stage 
• Conclusion Stage

3
High Net worth Divorce Shocking Facts to Know
About the Division of Property

• It is not uncommon for the rich and famous to be
  in the news for several reasons including
  divorce. Divorce is tough and when you are
  dividing up your property or estate, it can even
  become more complex. As a matter of fact, some
  high profile cases can even drag for months or
  even years. Here are some shocking facts to know
  about the division of property in a high net
  worth divorce.

4
Taxes Are Very Important

• Although transfers between spouses under the
  judgment of divorce are not subject to tax,
  achieving fair outcome requires consideration of
  taxes that each party will ultimately pay in
  terms of the assets he or she receives. Due to
  this, it is important to apply discounts to
  certain pre-tax assets in recognition that a
  spouse that receives pre-tax property does not
  receive the same value as the one who receives
  the same dollar balance in the post-tax assets.

5
Divorce And The Business

• In many high net worth cases, either one or both
  parties may have invested in the business either
  as a CEO or as partial owner. When a company is
  not traded publicly and the worth of ownership
  interest is not clear, it is important to confer
  with a valuation analyst to assist in determining
  the value of the ownership interest that is in
  question including any tangible assets.

6
A Fair Child Support Order May Require More Than
What You Think

• When it comes to high net worth divorce cases,
  there are guideline calculations that are meant
  to determine child support. However, if one party
  has a business owner with variable income, there
  is often a preliminary question as to the
  appropriate gross income that should be used to
  calculate the monthly child support payment. In
  cases where variable or bonus incline is
  involved, it may be fairer if the parties
  structure the support to include a base monthly
  support amount and an additional income that is
  received along the way.

7
You Can Prevent Your Spouse From Depleting Your
Assets Once You File For Divorce

• Once you file for a divorce, the court allows you
  to prevent your spouse from using your assets.
  Once a divorce is filed, an automatic order
  always goes to that effect. The order prohibits
  both parties from taking any action on the
  property without the other spouses consent. This
  includes property that was held individually or
  jointly.

8
Property And Investment Consideration

• In divorce cases, wealthier couples are more
  likely to own more real estate or have other
  investments that will have to be considered
  during the equitable distribution of their
  properties. These assets may include investment
  portfolios, stock, and vacation homes. Although
  the spouses may agree that the asset is marital,
  they may still disagree on who should receive the
  property or how the property should be devised.
• Regardless of your situation, speaking with an
  experienced attorney sooner rather than later can
  make all the difference. They will not only
  provide you with peace of mind but also a wealth
  of resources to protect your business, yourself
  and your family.

9
How Much Does It Cost To Hire And Retain A
Divorce Attorney? 

• The ideal situation for most people would be that
  they are flanked by an attorney when going
  through a divorce. But the question that most
  people ask is how much it costs to hire a divorce
  lawyer. You may have called a few attorneys and
  even checked out a couple of websites but you
  still wonder if you are being charged a little
  too much. Here is a guide on how much hiring a
  divorce attorney costs.

10
Hourly Rates

• Most attorneys bill by the hour. And according to
  nolo.com, the national average hourly fee charged
  by divorce lawyers is 250. This is of course
  just the average, and it is not uncommon to find
  those charging from as little as 50 per hour to
  even more than 400. However, 250 is the most
  likely fee to be charged. For this amount, you
  can get full representation in which the attorney
  handles every aspect of the case, partial
  representation where the lawyer only manages to a
  few aspects like child custody or alimony, or
  consultation only. So it is important to know
  beforehand what you will be getting for the
  hourly fee you are charged.

11
So, what is the average total cost of hiring a
divorce attorney?

• The hourly rate may not make a lot of sense
  because you do not even know how long your case
  may take.  Another thing to note is that the
  total fee will include court costs, the lawyers
  charges, and other expenses such as hiring a tax
  advisor, real estate appraiser, or child custody
  evaluator, etc. The cost can easily jump to
  15,000 or more, which includes attorneys fees.

12
Factors Affecting Divorce Lawyers Fees

• When you settle the matter out of court, you are
  likely to pay less than when a matter proceeds to
  trial. The more issues that go to trial, the more
  costly the fees will be. Prepare to pay up to
  20,000 if issues such as alimony, child custody
  or estates reach trial. For cases that reach a
  settlement, you can pay up to 15,000 if you
  manage to settle all your issues out of court.
• Other factors include
• Whether the divorce is contested or uncontested
• Child custody
• Alimony
• The retainer fee versus the hourly rate charged
  by lawyers
• The lawyer or law firm you choose to represent
  you
• Where you are filing the case and the local
  filing charges
• Mediation
• Child custody evaluation

13

• It is never simple or easy to end a marriage, but
  one of the most significant considerations apart
  from the societal and emotional factors is the
  cost. There are cases where legal fees will be
  the greatest expense in a divorce. As happens
  with most things, planning ahead can help you
  manage the situation.
• But one thing you need to know is that these fees
  are often negotiable. Talk to your lawyer and see
  if they can reduce it for you. Also, if you do
  not have an acrimonious divorce, always try to
  thrash details with your partner to avoid going
  to trial. This will save you a bunch of bills.

14
Basic Stages of a Divorce Mediation Process

• Most divorces end up in battles especially when
  issues such as property division and child
  custody come into play. Nevertheless, a divorce
  process does not have to be confrontational
  because it can be handled peacefully through
  mediation.
•  
• Divorce mediation is largely an out-of-court
  resolution mechanism that helps the divorcing
  couples to solve their issues sensibly. It
  entails a couple of steps. Here are the basic
  steps of the divorce mediation process. 

15
Introduction Stage 

• To initiate the divorce mediation process, the
  divorcing spouses have to find a non-partisan
  mediator to work with them through the process.
  The mediator will first work with the couple to
  set guidelines for the mediation process. Here,
  the divorcing couples must furnish the mediator
  with all the relevant information concerning
  their situation. The mediator will then explain
  to the couple how the process will be conducted.
  Based on the issues surrounding a couples
  divorce case, the mediator will suggest which
  approach to take in a bid to increase the chances
  of the couple agreeing on important issues
  concerning their divorce.

16
Private And Joint Sessions 

• After the introduction stage, several private and
  joint sessions are scheduled to take place,
  whereby the mediator will assist the divorcing
  couples to evaluate issues touching on their
  divorce case. During these sessions, the mediator
  must promote a peaceful and conducive environment
  where all parties can freely express their
  concerns, ideas, and needs.
•  
• Private sessions are meant to offer each party in
  the divorce case a chance to discuss sensitive
  emotional elements, issues of domestic abuse and
  other sensitive issues of the couples divorce
  case. The mediator must keep the information
  disclosed by the couple during these sessions
  completely confidential.

17
Framing Stage 

• In this stage, the mediator helps each party
  outline their preferred outcomes in the mediation
  process. The outcomes consist of each partys
  priorities, values, goals, and concerns.
•  
• This stage is crucial for identifying the
  interests of the parties, which is also essential
  for enabling the mediator to frame the main goal
  of the mediation process.
•  
• When it gets to divorce, all issues ought to be
  examined from an angle of each partys interests.
  Some of the issues pertinent to divorce include
  child support, alimony, debt division, and child
  custody.

18
Negotiation Stage 

• After the mediator has helped the divorcing
  couples to explore and frame their issues and
  interests, the negotiator then embarks on the
  most important stage of divorce mediation the
  negotiation stage. Here, the mediator will delve
  into the specifics of the parties interests and
  concerns. Most importantly, the mediator will
  help the parties negotiate a fair settlement.
  This normally starts with exploring all the
  possible options that will have the best outcome
  for all parties.

19
Conclusion Stage

• After all the issues have been resolved and
  agreements arrived at, the mediator then presents
  each party with a copy of the agreement draft.
  Once the couple has agreed to the contents of the
  agreement draft, they can preserve it and give it
  to their divorce attorney as proof of the final
  divorce judgment.
•  
• Divorce mediation has proved to be the most
  peaceful way of handling divorce cases. If you
  are facing an impending divorce case that risks
  escalating things between you and your partner,
  it is time to get a good mediator who can help
  mediate your divorce process peacefully and
  amicably.

20
More info

• https//www.eidelmanassoc.com/high-net-worth-divor
  ce/
• http//americanpersonalrights.org/high-net-worth-d
  ivorce-shocking-facts-to-know-about-the-division-o
  f-property/
• http//katolawpatent.com/basic-stages-of-a-divorce
  -mediation-process/
• http//anti-crime.org/how-much-does-it-cost-to-hir
  e-and-retain-a-divorce-attorney/