The disappearance of troubled Florida millionaire, Guma Aguiar, this past June, whose wife had asked him for a divorce just hours earlier, quickly turned into a legal battle between the missing man’s wife and mother over control of his estate. This should have been a high net-worth divorce case involving the division of a large corporation, consisting of the following:

  • $40 million in real estate and $65 million in investments
  • Disputed funds from the sale of a $2.5 billion energy company
  • Seven cars and a yacht worth more than $3 million
  • Sports team sponsorships
  • Multi-million dollar gifts promised to various charitable organizations
  • Child support for four young children and a whole lot of alimony

Wealthy couples with business assets, investments, retirement accounts, real estate, and a large amount of personal property and cash – much of it a mixture of separate and marital property – tend to have difficulty agreeing to a fair and equitable distribution of their property upon divorce.  High net- worth marital settlement agreements generally address the following issues:

  • Valuation and division of business assets, including family-owned businesses, law and medical practices
  • Assessment of your and your spouse’s earning capacities, taking into consideration any professional licenses or degrees acquired during the marriage
  • Assessment and division of corporate benefits such as stock options and other deferred compensation
  • Division and payments from retirement funds, including IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions
  • Tax issues that arise regarding transfers of property between you and your spouse, alimony and childcare deductions
  • Valuation and transfer of real estate, stocks and bonds
  • Valuing and dividing assets held in trust
  • Locating assets that you may be unaware of and/or assets that your spouse may be hiding from you
  • Dividing your other assets, such as art collections, timeshares and vacation properties or country club memberships
  • Adhering to the terms of any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement
  • Assuring that you and your children are able to maintain your current lifestyle after your divorce

Divorce is always challenging, but high net-worth cases involve additional complexities and require an attorney with the skills and resources to provide strong representation. Fortunately, our family law firm has handled many high net-worth divorces with great success.