Are you a business owner going through a divorce and worried that the value of your business will be severely miscalculated? Did you establish your business before your marriage and are now afraid that your spouse is trying to get half of the value of a business that existed before your marriage? Are you on the other side of the business-ownership spectrum and you fear that you have a manipulative spouse trying to hide assets from you?
If so, our firm has the experience necessary to give you the solutions you’re looking for.
Going through a divorce is challenging enough without the added complications that come with owning a business. Business owners must juggle running a successful company while desperately trying to protect their assets. At Desai Camino, we understand that running a business is a time-intensive responsibility; we will work tirelessly to ensure you’re rightfully allocated your hard-earned assets.
One of the most important financial considerations in a high asset divorce is business valuation. The financial value of your business will come across great scrutiny and analysis in order to determine the community property division. There are different metrics of business value including the value on the open market, the book value, the value based on capitalization of earnings, and others. Even if you owned your business prior to marriage, any appreciation of the business during the marriage could still be considered community property, and thus prone to equitable distribution. There are ways to increase/decrease this community property portion. This, along with the earnings of the business are both factored into the property division during a divorce, and the support calculation of a divorce. That’s why its imperative for you to take immediate action to safeguard your assets.
At Desai Camino, we have years of experience navigating high-asset divorce cases. We will work with specialized expert forensic accountants, business valuation experts, and forensic appraisers to help properly value your business. Business valuation is an important aspect of a high-asset divorce and can greatly influence other aspects of your divorce proceedings. Factors such as child and spousal support payments and the division of other property are heavily impacted by the value of your business.
In a divorce, finances are often one of the most contested issues. Although separating marital assets and debts may seem like a simple process, there is often a lack of transparency from both parties. If you feel as though your spouse may try to deliberately conceal assets from you, or misrepresent the value and/or tracing of an asset, it’s imperative to hire a forensic accountant. Properly tracing key assets your spouse owns is necessary to ensure you’re given an equitable portion of the community estate. A forensic accountant can do this by collecting and analyzing financial documents to find and characterize cash, stocks, mutual funds, property deeds, and bank account statements. Forensic accountants have even discovered assets that have been moved offshore or retitled into the name of another person. Our team (including our list of trusted experts we’ve worked with in the past) will meticulously search through possible evidence to support your case including establishing a paper trail, tracing the source and title of property (real and personal), and other means necessary to prove that your estate is protected and maximized. We will explore all options from strategic negotiations, mediations, and litigation. Our team understands the importance of your finances and we have developed methods to accurately characterize your property. Don’t let your separate property get mistakenly placed in the community property pool, and don’t let your half of the community pool get mischaracterized as your spouse’s separate estate; allow us to do the hard work of giving you your rightful property.
If you suspect that your spouse isn’t being fully transparent with their finances, it’s better to be safe than sorry and obtain a forensic accountant. During a divorce, assets that are not disclosed cannot be divided so even if you know your spouse is hiding their assets, you won’t be entitled to the money if you can’t provide proof. At Desai Camino, our team will analyze your case and advise you as to whether a forensic accountant is needed.
Allow us to take on the burden of uncovering these assets and making sure you are given the portion of community property you’re entitled to.
Did you own a substantial amount of assets prior to marriage? Are you fighting to rightfully hold on to these assets?
The division of property is a very important component of your divorce proceeding; it’s important to know how much property and money you’ll be leaving your marriage with to be able to start your single life.. All property owned/acquired during the marriage is at risk to be considered community property which is divided equally between the parties.
After hearing this, you may be panicking at the thought of having to divide your hard-earned money, or fear that your spouse is holding back from letting you take your rightful 50%. The good news is that this can be rebutted by providing evidence that certain assets are your separate property, or certain assets are community property. Whether you established a business prior to marriage or were gifted large sums of money from family members, there are many separate property considerations that are exceptions to the community property rule. There are also ways for separate property to be “transmuted” (e.g. converted) into community property. At Desai Camino, our years of experience have allowed us to develop strategies to accurately characterize property during a divorce and trace assets to protect your separate property while fighting to ensure you receive your 50% of community property.