When deciding to divorce your spouse in Colorado, you should take into consideration more than just your feelings. As a high-value individual, you need to take steps to protect your personal wealth and ensure you receive your fair share of marital assets. No matter how amicable you and your partner may seem now, high-net divorces often get ugly fast.
Take some time to review these three tips to protect your assets and rights and improve the outcome of your divorce.
1. Immediately review your finances
As soon as you start thinking about divorce, you should start taking inventory of your finances and accounts. Get copies of all accounts, retirement portfolios and business documents. Do not wait too long or you risk your partner hiding assets.
Common yet illegal and unethical ways people resort to misleading their spouses about their finances include transferring funds to other parties, making larger than normal payments to creditors, making sudden business purchases, making fraudulent payroll expenses and underreporting income.
2. Think of the long-term implications
In your quest for a fast, easy and stress-free divorce, you may feel like agreeing to any terms your spouse puts on the table. Making rash decisions on everything can lead to some frustrating and complicated repercussions after the finalization of your divorce. Make sure you think about every advantage and disadvantage each potential award has on your post-divorce situation.
For example, certain conditions require the reporting of alimony to the IRS as taxable income. What may seem like a big win for your finances in the guise of a large alimony award may increase your tax liability.
3. Consider negotiation instead of litigation
Once your divorce goes to trial, all privacy goes out the window. To keep the details regarding your situation private, you and your partner should try to negotiate. If communication is a problem, but you are both determined to keep your divorce private, consider working with a mediator.
High-value divorces are not always easy to resolve. However, with careful planning and the right strategies, you can emerge from the situation with a fair share of the marital assets and a better post-divorce outcome.
