Round Rock High Net Worth Divorce Lawyer

Round Rock High Net Worth Divorce Attorney

Divorce is already a complicated, stressful process, and having a high net worth can only increase those issues. When there is more wealth to divide during divorce, there are more opportunities for complexities and contentiousness between the divorcing couple. These delicate situations can benefit greatly from the help of a Round Rock high net worth divorce lawyer.

When you work with the team at the Vaught Law Firm, you can count on help from certified family law attorneys. This means you’ll receive top-tier legal advice, but we also pair that with sensitivity to all of the emotions and stressors that our clients are dealing with. We understand how hard divorce can be, and we believe that delivering great service means providing the respect it deserves in addition to advanced legal help.

What’s Impacted by a High Net Worth Divorce?

As the divorce process attempts to separate two lives that have been weaved together, a high net worth can play an impactful role. The degree to which wealth has an impact will differ depending on the particular issue, but it may factor into most of the major issues that need to be resolved throughout the course of the divorce.

Child Custody

When a divorce involves minor children, there are two types of custody that will need to be addressed. One is possession and access, the other is conservatorship. The former involves determining the parent with whom the child will live, while the latter concerns which parent will make important decisions for their child.

Conservatorship may be jointly held, meaning that both parents have custody of the child. At other times, one parent may have a sole conservatorship, meaning the other parent does not have this type of custody.

In the end, the courts will have to be sure that any ruling that they make regarding child custody meets the standard of being in the “best interests” of the child. In making this decision, there are a variety of different factors involved. Several of them aren’t influenced at all by net worth. However, it can play a tangential and even direct role in other factors.

One of the issues that impacts a child custody decision is the availability of the parent for the child. On one hand, a high net worth is often associated with a significant amount of work that results in a high income, and this can make it harder for a parent to be as available. However, it may also allow someone to reduce their workload in order to be more available.

Additionally, another consideration is the kind of home and resources a parent will have to be able to care for a child. In the case of a high net worth divorce, this is less likely to be a concern, as both parents will often have enough resources to properly care for the children and provide them with a secure environment.

Child Support

Child support is another aspect of divorce that is least impacted by net worth. This is because it is largely determined by the income, rather than the net worth, of the non-custodial parent or the parent who has less physical time and responsibility for the child. That parent could be required to pay a percentage of their income towards child support. Generally, the impact of net worth will only extend to the point that the wealth could be a result of high income, which could mean larger child support payments.

Determining Spousal Maintenance Payments

In Texas, spousal maintenance is one of the aspects of divorce that can be most heavily impacted by having a high net worth. The first requirement for receiving spousal maintenance is that the dependent spouse must show that they don’t have enough resources to meet their basic, minimum, and reasonable needs after the property of the marriage is divided. In divorces with a higher net worth, there is a greater likelihood of both spouses being able to clear that threshold.

As a high net worth is often associated with a high income, it’s also important to note that even if a spouse does qualify for spousal maintenance, there are caps that will apply to most awards.

Property Division

The aspect of a divorce that is most impacted by a high net worth, and also most likely to turn contentious because of wealth, is the element of property division. In particular, these issues may be challenging because Texas does not require an even 50-50 split in the value of the property but rather requires that the property division must be seen as “just and right” in the estimation of the court.

Property division begins with the disclosure that ensures both parties understand the full scope of the property they own. It’s important that this disclosure is complete because the courts will treat any failure to disclose property harshly. Property, in this sense, means both assets and debts, so both parties will need to be sure to disclose any liabilities that they have as well.

Once both parties have the full picture of the property involved, they will begin the process of negotiating a property division agreement as a part of the broader divorce agreement. While a divorce could eventually go to trial and be heard by the court, the courts favor couples negotiating and submitting an agreement, which a judge will need to approve as long as it fits within the law and is “just and right.”

Generally, negotiation is even more preferable for couples who go through a high net worth divorce. This is because it gives them more control over and influence on how the property will be managed rather than leaving it in the hands of a judge, who will inherently have less information and understanding of the complexities of the situation.

Distinguishing Between Community and Separate Property

Before the property can be divided, separate property will need to be distinguished from community property, as only the community property will be divided. As the default assumption is that any property held by the couple at the time of the divorce is community property, it will need to be proven that separate property meets the requirements to be set aside.

Separate property will be limited to the property that a spouse owned prior to the marriage, property that was received as an inheritance or as a gift, or an award from a personal injury claim, except the part of the award received for lost wages or earning capacity.

Determining what belongs in the categories of separate and community property and dividing the community property afterward both have the potential to turn contentious. The more complicated the property, which is often the case in high net worth divorces, and the more separate property has been intertwined with community property, the more room there is to argue about how property should be categorized.

Working with a skilled Round Rock high net worth divorce lawyer can help you avoid some of the contention and issues that arise during property division. Experience can be crucial to helping the process go as smoothly as possible.

What Does a Round Rock High Net Worth Divorce Lawyer Do?

When you work with a Round Rock high net worth divorce lawyer, it’s our responsibility to serve as your representative and advocate throughout the divorce process. We also help with the critical procedural aspects of the divorce, such as the significant amount of paperwork that’s involved. The paperwork may seem tedious, but errors and problems can have significant consequences and lead to delays.

Your lawyer is also an important source of advice. Our experience and understanding of the law can be helpful resources as you try to understand the options that may be available to you. We can also help you understand the range of likely outcomes in the divorce process, which can be helpful in reducing some of the stress and emotional challenges involved in your divorce.

Whether in negotiations or before the court, having your lawyer act as your representative can have a positive impact. We understand how these procedures operate and how to find compromises that can lead to a successfully negotiated settlement. We also understand how to argue before a judge and make the case they are looking for, if it comes to that.

Help for Your Round Rock High Net Worth Divorce

High net worth divorces pose a variety of unique challenges. The wealth itself creates a number of legal issues, as it often involves complex assets that can be difficult to divide. Frankly, a high net worth divorce is more likely to turn contentious because there are more assets that may be important to each spouse.

With all the unique challenges involved in a high net worth divorce, the importance of having the right divorce lawyer increases. The team at the Vaught Law Firm can provide excellent legal representation for those facing a divorce. Our certified family law attorneys have extensive experience in handling the types of issues involved in high net worth divorces, from complex property division to the emotional side of the process. Contact our team today for help with your Round Rock high net worth divorce.