The divorce attorney in a high asset value divorce is often like a band leader.  He has to select the type of musicians and direct them on how their instruments should be played.  Obviously, there is a need to select expert witnesses who are competent, but it is the role of the attorney to guide and assist the expert in understanding their role in your divorce. 

Having an expert render opinions on complex issues in determining the value of separate property, or profits on that separate property, is useless unless the attorney gives the expert the law which needs to be examined.  The attorney then needs to work with the expert to formulate the best possible presentation of the facts and the expert’s opinion. 

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Determining “separate” property in California is often times one of the most difficult tasks involved in a high asset value divorce.  It is incumbent upon the attorney to determine what is “separate” property and what is “community property.” 

Absent a valid pre-marital agreement, the marital rights of persons who live in California are fixed in accordance with the California property law.  Generally community property is divided equally. 

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In California, parties to a divorce are considered to be in a fiduciary relationship.  What this means is that each party has the obligation to disclose to the other all of the assets and liabilities.  The initial Court forms which you will complete as a part of your divorce process require disclosure of assets and liabilities.  This is where the benefit of the pre-divorce planning and document collection becomes clear. 

There is nothing more frustrating than having the value of assets constantly changing because the asset information keeps changing.

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Pre-divorce planning and document review is a must.  You can’t build a house without a proper set of plans, nor can you do a divorce without complete and accurate financial information. 

The easiest and least costly way of going through the divorce process is to have complete financial information available to your attorney at the beginning of his representation.  He should assist you in completing a questionnaire. 

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In divorce involving business, real estate, intellectual property, stock options, or complicated financial assets, the attorney must have extensive business background and experience.  If he doesn’t, then the likelihood of your success is limited.  If the attorney has not been involved with business formation, operation, sale and financing, it is difficult for the attorney to understand the fine points necessary to establish the value of the business. 

Therefore, the inexperienced attorney has no choice but to rely upon expensive experts, who will be paid for by the client.  This creates problems because of the costs involved, and the attorney is now dependent upon the expert’s opinion.  It is rare for a divorce attorney to have extensive business and real estate background and experience to understand complex financial investments. 

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This can be a painful, expensive and complicated process. Especially if you have extensive business and real estate holdings…

San Diego divorce attorney Robert Hajek works with high net worth individuals to help them preserve their business and real estate holdings during this difficult time. Why is Robert the right choice for wealthy individuals?

Robert Hajek has 30 years experience negotiating real estate and business deals, helping clients with patent law, and negotiating and litigating these types of cases. Most divorce lawyers have little or no experience with business or real estate law. And it can get very expensive when they have to hire consultants to explain it to them. Read the rest of this entry »