A high-asset divorce in Texas can be extraordinarily contentious. And the outcome of your marriage dissolution can affect your financial positioning for a long time to come. Although our state is a community property state, meaning that you should receive an equal share of the marital estate, figuring out what falls into that estate can be trickier than anticipated. And if you’re not careful, your spouse could hide assets from you to try to trick you out of what you’re owed. Therefore, adequate preparation is key to a successful property division outcome.
So, what can you do in your high-asset divorce to protect your interests? While there are several steps that you can take, one of the most beneficial may be to utilize a forensic accountant. But what does one of these professionals do and how can they help you in your high net worth divorce? Let’s take a closer look.
How a forensic accountant could be beneficial in your high-asset divorce
There are several advantages to using a forensic accountant in your divorce. This includes the following:
- Finding hidden assets: If you suspect that your spouse is squirreling away assets to remove them from the property division process, a forensic accountant may be able to help you. This professional will scour your marital financial records, looking for red flags and following paper trails to see if assets have been hidden or misappropriated in some other fashion.
- Determining the value of a business: A family business that has been commingled with marital assets will be subjected to equal division in your divorce. To ensure that you get your fair share out of the business, though, you need to ensure that the business is properly valuated. If it’s not, then you could lose out on much needed resources when your spouse buys you out for far less than what your share of the business is worth. A forensic accountant can scrutinize your business’s finances, analyze business assets and assess liabilities to come to a true valuation determination. This can be powerful evidence in your divorce, better positioning you for the outcome that you need.
- Establishing marital lifestyle: If you’re going to seek alimony, then you need to establish your marital standard of living and your spouse’s ability to pay you support. A forensic accountant can look at incomes and spending habits to give the court a clearer sense of what your marital standard of living looked like as well as your spouse’s ability to pay. Their reporting, then, could give you an edge in your spousal support dispute.
- The squandering of marital assets: It isn’t fair for your spouse to waste your marital assets because they know that you’d otherwise get your hands on them through the property division process. So, if think your spouse has been spending down your marital estate to prevent you from getting the assets you deserve, then you may need a forensic accountant to help you show where those marital assets have gone. This may assist you in arguing for a larger portion of the remaining marital estate.
Be thorough in advocating for assets in your high-asset divorce
In a high-asset divorce, you need strong legal arguments to ensure that you’re well positioned financially once your divorce is finalized. If you’re unprepared, then you could lose out significantly. So, if you’re heading into a high net worth divorce, then now is the time to start developing a strong legal strategy that positions you for the successful outcome you deserve.