Is Divorce Different When There are $Millions to Divide?
Is Divorce Different When There are $Millions to Divide?
The family law attorneys at The Harris Law Firm deal with high asset and high profile family law cases on a daily basis. They say that it is not unusal for the parties involved in these cases to have a variety of asset classes, and thus their income and/or net worth may not be readily transparent. The attorneys said that the use of forensic accounting is more common in cases where the division of assets entails many millions of dollars. Forensic accountants are often called upon to utilize their in-depth accounting and auditing skills to conduct an investigation for the discovery of assets and to present their findings in court.
The folowing story originally appeared in WSJ.com's Speakeasy blog.
Are divorces different when there are millions of dollars at stake? Tonight at 9 p.m. ET, CNBC will air "Divorce Wars," a documentary about breakups among the super-rich. The special features CNBC's Melissa Francis, who is also the host of the network's program "The Call."
The documentary features such notable figures as Justine Musk, who divorced Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors. "When you take away the romantic fantasy, marriage is a business contract," Justine Musk says on the special.
The Wall Street Journal interviewed Francis via email about the show.
How are divorces for the rich different from breakups between folks who don't have as much money?
They aren't that different. The people I talked to seemed to be fighting over more money than anyone could ever spend! Which made me wonder, why? How many millions do you really need? It turns out, these battles are sparked by the exact same emotions that push less wealthy people to take up arms, like a sense of betrayal, abandonment, or humiliation. The weapon just becomes money because that's what is handy.
How has divorce changed in recent years?
The rules have changed dramatically. All fifty states have no fault divorce, which means if your spouse strays, it doesn't matter. And you might even alienate the judge by harping on it and wasting the court's time. Also, you can finance your fight if you don't control the cash in the marriage. We found businesses that will bankroll an army for a percent of the settlement. Finally, the lawyers and accountants we grilled all said they advise their clients not to try to hide assets.
If you try to stash cash in a secret account, or buy an asset and tuck it away, there's an electronic record somewhere. You waste time and money, and make yourself look very unsympathetic to the judge.
What's the best way to safeguard your money in a divorce?
Almost everyone I spoke to said, get a prenup. Even if you don't have that much to protect. Draw up an emergency exit plan while you are still on speaking terms. It's not romantic, but it could save BOTH of you a lot of money and agitation.
Read more: Is Divorce Different for the Rich? - SmartMoney.com http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/marriage-divorce/is-divorce-different-for-the-rich-1301426336654/#ixzz1IIPKuajz
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