New Jersey High Net Worth Divorce Attorney

Our family attorney is capable of handling the most complex legal issues involved in high net worth cases, which may include:

Classifying Property

New Jersey is an equitable distribution state. This means that all marital property is subject to division. The court begins with a presumption that both spouses made a substantial financial or nonfinancial contribution to the income or property acquired during the marriage. The parties can try to reach their own agreement regarding the division of marital property. If they are unable to reach an agreement, the court considers various factors to determine a fair outcome, including:

• The length of the marriage
• The age and health of both spouses
• The standard of living established during the marriage 
• Any valid written agreement regarding the division of property
• The economic circumstances of each spouse when the property is divided
• The income and earning capacity of each spouse
• The property’s present value
• The tax consequences of any proposed distribution
• The spouses’ separate income or property 
• The spouses’ debts
• Whether a spouse deferred their career goals
• The spouse’s contribution to the education, training, or earning capacity of the other spouse
• The need of a parent with custody of a child to own or live in the marital home 
• Each spouse’s role in acquiring, preserving, appreciating, or depreciating marital property
• The contribution of a spouse as a homemaker
• The need to create a trust fund to pay for foreseeable medical or educational costs for a spouse or child 

In high net worth divorce cases, you may have complex and valuable assets, such as:

• Multiple real estate holdings, including vacation and rental properties 
• Financial accounts, including checking accounts, saving accounts, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
• Retirement accounts, including 401(k) and IRA accounts
• Stock options and stock-based benefits
• Deferred income arrangements
• Valuable collections
• Intellectual property
• Business holdings

We will work diligently to accurately identify your property as separate or marital. We will also work to negotiate a fair property settlement. 

• Valuing property – Our network of professionals can accurately determine the value of your property so that you can reach a fair divorce settlement. 

Evaluating Assets 

High net worth divorce cases often involve complex assets, which can be difficult to evaluate. We can work with other professionals to accurately determine the value of property, including:

• Business interests
• Real estate
• Digital assets
• Cryptocurrency 
• Deferred income 

Locating Assets

If you suspect that your spouse is hiding assets, we can use discovery, record searches, and experts to uncover them. 

Reviewing Marital Agreements

Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are an effective way to determine how property will be divided during a subsequent divorce. We can review any applicable marital agreement to determine the terms and whether the agreement is valid. 

Handling Support Issues

With a high net worth involved, spousal support can be a hotly contested issue. If you and your spouse are not in agreement on this issue, the court will consider whether to award alimony and in what amount by evaluating factors, such as:

• The need the requesting spouse has for financial support and the ability of the other spouse to provide it
• The length of the marriage
• Each spouse’s age and health 
• The standard of living established during the marriage
• The spouses’ parental responsibilities 
• The equitable distribution of property
• The earning capacity and education of each spouse
• The amount of time the requesting spouse has not been employed outside the home
• The time and expense it would take for the requesting spouse to obtain adequate education or training to become financially self-sufficient 
• Each spouse’s contributions to the marriage, including non-financial contributions and contributions to the care and education of the children and career sacrifices made to benefit the family 
• Investment income available to either spouse 

Resolving Child Custody and Support Issues

We can also help you resolve matters pertaining to your children, including child custody and child support matters.