You are divorcing in the Orlando, Florida or Lake Mary, Florida area. You have a high net worth. This means you have a multimillion-dollar marital estate to divide. You may own businesses, multiple real properties, and have trusts, retirement accounts, stock options, pensions, etc. These divorces can have complicated monetary issues.
Choosing Your Process
First, decide if you want to proceed on the case through the collaborative process or by the court system with litigation. Depending on which route you choose to pursue, you will need a team of certain types of experts to work on your case.
If You Proceed by the Collaborative Process
If you proceed by the Collaborative process, you and your spouse will each obtain a collaboratively trained attorney who has experience in collaborative cases. Then, the attorneys will agree on a mental health neutral and a financial neutral to complete the collaborative team. With the collaborative process, you will not need to hire your own forensic accountant. That will save the participants, you, and your spouse the money you would have spent if each of you had to hire your own expert.
Privacy and Confidentiality
Further, if you have a high net worth divorce, you may not want your financial information in the court file. Another benefit of the collaborative process is the private nature and confidentiality. You may have business information that you do not want in the court file. That is one reason why you could do the collaborative process. If you are a public figure, you can prevent the press from snooping into the private matters of your divorce by choosing the collaborative process. That way, your dirty laundry is not aired in public.
If Collaborative Divorce is Not an Option
You may have a spouse who refuses to do the case through the collaborative process. You then will need to compile a team of experts to assist you on your case. You will want to collaborate closely with your financial planner, your CPA, and you may want to hire a forensic accountant. You need to understand the tax ramifications and how the divorce will affect your pension, stock options, businesses, real estate, etc. You may need a business evaluator. If you have children, you may want to hire a Guardian Ad Litem or Social Investigator.
If you have more questions regarding a Marital and Family Law matter, you may call Ann Marie Giordano Gilden at Ann Marie Giordano Gilden, P.A. on 407-732-7620 and set an initial consultation. You may also visit my website at: https://www.annmariegildenlaw.com
This article is for informational purposes only and does not form an attorney client privilege.