Our legal team has extensive experience helping high earners, business owners, entrepreneurs, and farmers navigate their high-stakes divorces.
If you have assets in excess of $100,000 or have an income greater than $350,000 a year then you will need true expert help as you work to resolve the major issues of your divorce.
Our team’s background in business law and real estate law provides you with an edge. We can offer sophisticated solutions that most family lawyers won’t think to offer or propose. These solutions help you protect the value of your assets, ensure that you’re treated fairly in regards to child support and spousal support, and helps you to maintain control of the assets that matter most to you.
We are tough negotiators who can help you create a workable settlement long before your case has to go to divorce court. Yet we’re also tough if your spouse pushes the issue. We go in prepared to litigate at any time, and have the skills that it will take to defend your interests in divorce court.
High net worth divorces can be contentious and challenging because there is so much at stake for both parties. Our law firm can help.
Division of Assets
High net worth couples face special issues when it comes to the division of assets. If your assets aren’t handled correctly they can swiftly lose their value. For example, handling farm assets incorrectly can mean all but dismantling the farm’s ability to function and earn money.
We work to protect sensitive assets such as:
- Businesses
- Retirement accounts
- Investment accounts
- Farms
- Real property
We also ensure these assets are valued properly so that the full stakes are known and understood throughout the negotiation process. We work closely with certified valuation professionals and forensic accountants in order to ensure that you’re being treated correctly.
There are a number of solutions we can use to ensure that your most important assets continue to perform well into the future. For example, if you need to retain control of your business we can structure the divorce settlement in such a way that it effectively buys out your spouse’s share of that company, ensuring you will not have to run your business with input from your ex into the future. If you are worried about a retirement account, we can use a QDRO to help you protect the interest-earning balance while assuring your spouse that they will get a share of retirement income when the time comes.
Can we help you get a greater share of these assets? It depends. Canadian law usually requires a 50% split of all marital assets. However, there is room for negotiation and argument over what constitutes a marital asset, as well as whether a 50% division will be fair. When we meet with you we will go over your options and see what’s possible.
If you are looking at attempting to keep a specific asset, such a business, we can offer a number of sophisticated solutions that allow your spouse to sell you their share or give you full control in exchange for other concessions. We will bring you options so that you can make decisions about your best interests.
Solutions for International Assets
Many of our clients have property in the United States, Hong Kong, China, Europe, and Russia.
The need to divide up international assets offers challegnes throughout the divorce. There are times when other countries won’t want to honor the divorce agreement, will want to impose certain taxes on the transfer of any assets, or will make it difficult to find the asset in the first place.
Fortunately we have extensive experience with all of the challenges that international assets can bring to the table.
Tax Issues in a High Net Worth Divorce
Tax becomes a much greater concern during a high net worth divorce. Ensuring that neither party becomes disadvantaged by their tax burden is paramount. Our settlement structures often help our clients save thousands of dollars.
Even deciding which home will be designated as the primary residential home can have significant consequences at tax time. Retirement accounts or investment accounts offer special taxation challenges as well.
Fortunately we’re prepared to work closely with your accountant and your financial advisor to make sure that you don’t take on more than your fair share of the tax burden as assets and debts get divided during your Surrey, BC divorce.
Determining Income
If you own a corporation then your income is often more than your paycheck.
Courts are well aware of the ways that corporate structures can be manipulated to protect your buying power while reducing the amount of income you earn on paper. They have been known to vigorously impute income in order to address these imbalances.
We help you manage this part of the process during your settlement so that judges don’t err on the side of overestimating your earning power or day-to-day cash flow. It’s our job to ensure that you receive a fair income estimate, especially for the purposes of setting child support and spousal support payment amounts. If you are seeking maintenance payments, we can make sure that your ex is reporting or estimating their income fairly.
If you merely make a variable income, then the courts will usually use your last three years of tax returns to decide how to set your income. Yet the settlement process offers more power, and can help better account for the extreme differences in income that can arise from year to year.
Get Help Today
Divorce shouldn’t destroy your life.
We help thousands of high net worth earners secure reasonable divorce settlement terms. Our team’s extensive experience with complex assets will serve you well throughout the divorce process.
We will help you protect your ability to grow and build wealth. We will also do everything in our power to ensure that your divorce leaves you in control of the assets that matter most to you.
Call 1-604-394-7777 to schedule your first appointment today.