Manhattan High Net Worth Divorce attorneys
The end of your marriage is inevitable. It is not something you wished for, but you must now deal with the reality of it. The strain of it has taken a tremendous toll on your mind and emotions. But as you fight through the psychological difficulty of leaving the life you’ve known behind you must plan for the material facts of the life that is in front of you.
If the estate of you and your partner is worth a considerable amount of money, it is imperative that you begin the process of getting your share of it straightaway. Your situation will not improve with time, and every minute that you spend in inaction only strengths the hand of the person you are about to divorce.
High net worth divorces are the most complex and difficult to deal with because most of the actual process of the divorce will be spent on financial matters. The very moment you decide that you cannot go on in your marriage and must seek a divorce, you should contact a divorce lawyer who specializes in these sorts of cases. If it is the other way around, and it is you that is being sued for divorce, then you should contact a high net worth divorce lawyer the very moment you suspect what is coming.
In such cases, when an official petition for divorce is filed the judge will usually order a suspension of all major purchases and a halt to all attempts to convert assets from one form of capital to another—turning stocks into cash, for example.
Then you and your partner will need to decide on the division of assets. It is important to note that New York law mandates an equitable division of assets, which is not the same as an equal division of assets. You should know that in most high net worth divorce cases there is an uneven distribution of assets. That is why you must go to work quickly to get as thorough an accounting of all the assets of the estate. The process of doing so is as follows:
-asset declaration: during this stage a comprehensive outline of all property and assets is drawn up
-asset valuation: all assets are then assessed to determine their exact value
-marital property: all assets and debt acquired after the marriage are declared marital property, and they are subject to equitable distribution
-separate property: assets that were owned before the marriage are considered separate property, and these are returned to each person. If no prenuptial agreement exists, this property is also subject to equitable distribution
Getting a full picture of all the assets that form the estate is not always easy or straightforward. If you were not directly involved or familiar with the finances of your partner, you will essentially be playing catch-up. You may also encounter an additional obstacle. Your ex may not be forthcoming about the assets. In fact, they may attempt to hide money, capital, and other sources of wealth.
An experienced high net worth divorce lawyer knows that the best response to this possibility is to hire a forensic accountant. Such a professional can dig deeper into the finances of the estate; they can track down the various sources of revenue and income enjoyed by your ex and to ensure that every sort of investment, stock option, and tax instrument is found and made part of the larger pot that is to be divided.
This is necessary part of the divorce proceeding. You must protect yourself, and you must make sure that you have all the facts. It may be the case—indeed it is not uncommonly the case—that your ex has been planning to divorce you for some time, and that they have been moving money and other investments around in ways that make it difficult for standard accounting analyses to find.
You should also ensure that the various business interests that your ex is involved in do not become shelters for hiding money. This is a common practice for those who want to keep parts of their personal wealth out of sight of conventional financial review authorities.
You gave all that you could to your marriage, and you have gotten used to living a certain lifestyle. That should not change because of the divorce. Working with a divorce lawyer who has extensive expertise and experience in high net worth cases will ensure that you get an adequate share of the assets. Such lawyers know how to gather and present facts and arguments that will get you an acceptable settlement.
There are a lot of people today who need help managing their finances. This is true for people who do not have a lot of money, but this is also true for people who own a lot of assets or companies that produce income. Now is the time to start working with someone in your area on a plan for the future.
For many rich people, one of the biggest issues that they have to deal with is family planning for their wealth. No one wants to work hard their entire life and see their wealth go away. As a parent, you have to raise your kids to be responsible and to take on the responsibility of wealth the right way.
Using a lawyer can help greatly during this time. Not only do you want to have a plan for the estate, but you also need to start planning now for when you are gone. This is relevant in every area of your life. Here are some of the biggest ways that lawyers can help in this process.
Property Valuation
When it’s necessary, Spodek Law Group will call in the assistance of experts so our clients can get a fair portion of any marital assets or property. We often work with tax professionals, business valuation experts, and forensic accountants to locate assets and accurately value their sources of income.
Sources of income frequently include business ventures, real estate, investment instruments, bank accounts, retirement accounts, and stock portfolios. We guaranteed our clients a meticulous investigation, and we also utilize intelligent and proven strategies for constructing your case.
Our firm has helped hundreds of high net-worth clients with the following:
1) Determine hidden assets
2) Complicated property division
3) Valuation of marital estate
4) Division of professional practices and businesses
5) Premarital agreements
6) High-asset spousal maintenance
7) Division of retirement funds
8) Bank accounts, stocks and investments
9) Real estate and vacation properties
10)Luxury cars and boats
Developing a Trust
One of the most important aspects of having wealth is developing a trust for your money and your business endeavors. A lot of people do not understand the difference in a trust and a will. With a will, all of your assets go to the person you are leaving things to.
However, with a trust, there can be certain criteria that people have to meet in order to get the money you leave them. This is a great way to leave your kids money without it spoiling them. For example, you can put stipulations on the money that they have to be a certain age or married with children. This is one of the best ways for you to exercise control after you are gone.
Developing a trust is a lot of hard work. You have to have a quality legal team on your side in order to make good decisions in this area. Over time, working with a legal team is a great way to have success in this area. Our team has a lot of experience designing trusts to the satisfaction of our clients.
Investment and Tax Planning
One of the most important parts of maintaining wealth is dealing with taxes. When you have a high income or a high net worth, you have to make sure you spend a lot of time and energy planning for your taxes.
If you need advice in this area, our company has a lot of people with experience dealing with taxes at a high level. The tax laws change in the economy almost every year. This is why it is so important to stay on top of all of the changes that you want to see.
There are many people today who are excited about all of the investment planning that they can do for the future. There are a lot of exciting industries that are starting to open up to invest in. One of the best parts of this is making money on fun investments that are also impacting the world around us. Working with your lawyer will allow you to see all of the implications of these financial decisions.
Tax Planning for High Net Worth Families
A solid tax strategy is a great way to maximize wealth preservation. It reduces the amount of taxes that you are required to pay to just what is necessary or unavoidable. On top of that, it guarantees that you remain in compliance with the tax legislation where you live. Tax planning is a long-term strategy that does not focus on the immediate future alone. High net worth families commonly put tax minimization techniques to keep the amounts that they would be asked to pay to a minimum. It is important that families understand the applicable laws that are accepted and those that are not in spite of the fact that there is nothing illegal in it.
There are a range of options available for individuals who believe they need a tax strategy. These include trusts (as discussed above), offshore accounts and life insurance. It is advisable to discuss this with your lawyer so that you can explore all the options that you have at your disposal, because there is a lot of complexity involved with these options. One detail you should bear in mind is that a good tax plan will help you over the long haul. Your high net worth lawyer will not have a large impact later on, such as in case of a divorce, if your portfolio is not structured in such a way that the tax consequences are proactively reduced.
Next Steps
Maintaining your wealth as you age is one of the most important parts of having money. A lot of people struggle in this area because they do not understand the strategies that are used to save money and invest for the future. Working with a lawyer is a great way to get some advice on what to do in this area.
With all of the changes that are taking place in the industry today, now is the time to schedule an appointment with our team to make sure you have a plan for the future. Our team has a lot of experience in various areas of tax planning, and we know how to help you in any way possible. With these changes, we are going to help you plan for the future of your family as well.
Investment and tax planning is a complicated subject, especially if you have an estate. For a lot of estate plans, it takes many hours of work and thousands of dollars to get right. Over time, this is one of the best ways to protect all of your life’s work with quality tax and investment advice from your lawyers. Now is the time to come by and get the process started with us.
Who can serve the divorce papers?
After you’ve decided it’s time for a divorce, one of the first things you’ll have to do is file the divorce papers. In order to properly file those papers, you have to serve a copy of the summons and the complaint on your spouse. There are a few ways possible to do this, legally. You can do a personal service (hand delivery), or you can do a certified mail(with return receipt). Anyone 18, or over, can hand the papers to your spouse. It can be a family member or friend. You can also hire a professional process server, who handles serving it for you. It can NEVER be you. It has to be given, by another adult. You cannot serve it yourself.
The papers must be given to your spouse directly, not to someone else. You can give the papers to someone of suitable, and discretion, who lives in the same home as your spouse. You will have to be able to prove to the judge, that your spouse lives with this other person. The papers cannot be given to someone the spouses job. The only person who legally accept the papers for your spouse is someone who actually lives with him/her. The only reason this rule changes, is if the spouse has authorized someone else to accept the papers on his/her behalf.
The papers can be delivered to your spouse anywhere you find him, or her. Whether it be at home, or at work, or at a gas station. The only thing that matters is the fact it’s done. If the person delivering the papers tells you the spouse isn’t accepting the papers; you can drop the papers at your spouse’s feet. If the person delivering the papers can’t get in, to see your spouse – face to face; then you’ll have to keep trying to serve the papers.
If you choose to use a certified receipt, you can mail the papers yourself. You can mail the papers to any address where you think the spouse will be available to receive and sign for them. You can mail the papers to any address where you think your spouse will be able to receive and sign for them. The return receipt, has to be signed by your spouse, in order for it to be considered a valid service.
You have 60 days from the day you file, in order to get the divorce papers in motion – in order to serve your spouse. IF you don’t serve within that time, you need to go back to the Family Court center, before the 60 days. They will give you a new summons, and then you’ll get another 60 days. If you need additional time, then you’ll have to ask the judge. You can file a written request, or appear in a court hearing and ask the judge.
If you need more help, please speak to a Manhattan Divorce law firm, like ours.
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