Any divorce can be stressful, contentious, and costly, but individuals with substantial assets face unique challenges in their dissolution proceedings. If you are a high-net-worth individual planning to divorce in the Charleston area, it is vital to have legal counsel you can trust. Contact an experienced Charleston divorce attorney at the Ballinger Law Firm today at (843) 412-9507 to schedule a consultation.
All divorce cases require accurate and fair property valuation and division. Separating spouses must decide how to divide their debt and property if they get divorced. This process can be highly complex if the parties are high net worth individuals, or if the couple shares extensive assets, such as pension benefits, stock portfolios, a family business, or expensive real estate holdings.
At the Ballinger Law Firm, we have extensive experience with high net worth divorces, specifically in working with our clients to develop creative solutions to complex property division issues. We work with forensic accountants to determine the best way to divide property, to conduct reliable business valuations and to uncover any hidden assets or to untangle commingled assets.
When you partner with us, we will take prompt action to protect your assets. For example, we often obtain court orders to prevent either party from accessing and using certain credit cards or depleting bank accounts. This ensures all marital assets remain in place until they can be divided by agreement at mediation, or settlement negotiations or by court order.
Divorce is more than just ending a marriage contract. It is also the process of dividing the divorcing spouses’ marital assets. South Carolina uses the equitable distribution system to handle property division in a divorce. This means that marital property needs to be divided fairly between the two spouses, but that does not necessarily mean each spouse gets a precisely equal share.
When a South Carolina judge decides on property division, they will need to review various factors to determine the most equitable division of the couple’s marital assets. This begins with a careful assessment of the couple’s property, with each spouse submitting a complete and accurate financial disclosure statement outlining their respective separate property and their records pertaining to shared marital property.
Generally, marital property can include any assets, income, and debts acquired by a couple during the course of their marriage. For example, if they purchased a home together while married, the house will usually qualify as marital property if they decide to divorce.
South Carolina’s property division law for divorce allows each of the spouses to keep separate property that is not subject to division under the equitable distribution rule. Separate property can mean things that a spouse brought into their marriage, inheritance they have received from other relatives, and gifts given specifically to them by third parties.
Both spouses will need to submit complete financial records so the court can assess what qualifies as marital property for their divorce proceedings. This is one reason why it is so crucial to work with a Charleston attorney who has experience in high net worth divorce cases. They can help you understand how South Carolina law applies and help protect your financial interests in your divorce.
Debts and who is responsible for paying them is another issue where disputes are likely to arise. Typically, South Carolina law considers debt incurred during the marriage as marital property, meaning both spouses will be equally responsible for the debt regardless of whose name is on the debt. However, it is possible for certain debts to be qualified as separate property based on the timing of acquisition or if a spouse took on debt without the other spouse’s knowledge or agreement or for non-marital purposes (such as entertaining a paramour).
An experienced high asset divorce attorney can help you determine responsibility for debts for the purposes of property division. This is often challenging in high-net-worth cases as these couples not only tend to control substantial assets but also often hold substantial debt.
If you do not want to be held responsible for your spouse’s separate debt, it is vital to have an attorney you can trust to help you navigate property division proceedings successfully.
When a high net worth couple has children, their custody and support determination is likely to be one of the most contentious aspects of their divorce proceedings. The court has a legal duty to ensure that the outcome of the divorce aligns with the best interests of the children; both parents will be required to contribute to the financial cost of raising their children.
The South Carolina family court decides on child custody based on what the judge believes would suit the best interests of the child or children in question. They will evaluate multiple factors, including:
The court will need to resolve both legal and physical custody. Legal custody is the right to make important decisions for a child, while physical custody pertains to the child’s residence and where they will spend their time following the completion of the divorce. It is possible for one parent to assume the majority of physical custody but for both parents to share legal custody, and it is also possible for the parents to split physical custody if it is feasible for them to do so.
In every custody determination, the court must also resolve child support terms. Usually, the parent who assumes greater physical responsibility for their child will receive child support payments from the other parent.
However, the income difference between the two parents will also influence child support terms. For example, if the parents share custody, the higher-earning spouse may have slightly more physical custody than the lower-earning spouse, but they may be required to pay the lower-earning spouse child support to account for the difference in their income.
Ultimately, child custody and child support determinations can be one of the most contentious aspects of any divorce case. In a high net worth divorce, the court will want to ensure that the child can continue with a similar standard of living to what they had while their parents were married.
Spousal support often comes into play in high net worth divorce cases when one spouse earns significantly more income than the other spouse. The court generally upholds that the lower-earning spouse has the right to maintain a reasonably similar standard of living after their divorce, and this usually means that the higher-earning spouse will be required to pay them alimony on a regular basis after the completion of their divorce.
Alimony or spousal support is determined based on multiple factors, such as:
The judge handling the case will not only need to decide whether alimony is necessary for the divorce, but they will also need to decide how much the higher-earning spouse will need to pay, how long these payments will continue, and under what conditions the alimony obligation would end.
Each of the divorcing spouses must be truthful in their financial disclosure statement. While it’s natural to worry about your financial future and the economic impact of your divorce, attempting to hide assets from the property division will likely backfire tremendously. This can lead to contempt of court or even criminal charges for fraud in some cases.
It’s possible for a divorcing spouse to hide assets in divorce proceedings in multiple ways:
If you believe your spouse has hidden assets or has intentionally wasted marital funds in any way, or if you believe they haven’t been completely forthcoming on their financial disclosure, it is vital to notify your attorney right away. At the Ballinger Law Firm, we consult with forensic accountants and other experts who can help you learn the truth of the situation and help you hold your spouse accountable.
High net worth couples can also face problems due to the complexity of different types of assets. A couple may have multiple investment portfolios, retirement accounts, savings accounts, cryptocurrency holdings, hard assets, and real property. Each type of property in a divorce can present unique challenges that an experienced attorney will need to address.
The Ballinger Law Firm will work closely with various financial experts to help you resolve any disputes regarding complex assets and liabilities in your divorce. Our goal is to help you approach these difficult proceedings with peace of mind and do everything we can to protect your future.
In South Carolina, it is possible to file for divorce either on fault-based grounds or on a no-fault basis. If your spouse has done something to cause the irreparable breakdown of your marriage, it is important to consult an attorney who can help you file your divorce petition. You will need to carefully outline the reason for the divorce and provide supporting documentation that shows the other party is clearly at fault for the breakdown of your marriage.
Alternatively, a couple can file for a no-fault divorce if they have simply decided that their marriage is beyond hope of reconciliation and needs to end. To qualify for a no-fault divorce, the couple will need to remain separated with no cohabitation for a period of at least one full year.
If you are considering divorce, keep in mind that any actions you take now could impact the final outcome of your property settlement. The Ballinger Law Firm is ready to help you protect your future with compassionate and responsive divorce representation in Charleston. Contact us through our website or call us at (843) 412-9507 now to protect your interests during the high net worth divorce process.
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