When you are involved in a high net worth divorce in Florida, there are special considerations when selecting an attorney to handle your divorce. Technically, any licensed Florida attorney may handle a divorce. However, this does not mean that attorneys are equally qualified to handle these types of cases. Many divorces involving couples with substantial assets typically present special complexities and issues, such as businesses valuations, difficult to appraise assets and complex ownership arrangements. These types of divorces require specialized knowledge that a general practitioner may be ill-equipped to provide. Even some family law attorneys lack experience handling high net worth and high-stakes divorce cases.
Some of the questions you should ask include:
- Have you handled divorces involving substantial assets previously?
- What is the largest marital estate that has been the subject of a divorce you have handled?
- Have you handled a fair number of divorces involving people with significant assets?
- What steps can be taken to protect my confidential financial information from public disclosure?
- Do you have business valuation experts that you routinely use in these cases?
- What can you do to prevent the divorce from interfering with the day to day management of my business?
- Can you evaluate our pre-nuptial agreement and indicate how it might impact our divorce?
- Are you the member of any professional matrimonial attorney associations?
While this is not a dispositive list of questions that you should ask a prospective divorce attorney in a high net worth divorce. The point is to ensure that the attorney has enough experience with these types of cases to anticipate and effectively deal with the special types of issues that may arise. The division of business interests, disposition of multiple residential, vacation and investment properties, valuation of difficult to assess assets like art, stock options, jewelry and antiques, hidden and diverted assets, alimony and complex financial arrangements can complicate your divorce.
To schedule a consultation, please call the Law Offices of James S. Cunha, P.A. at 561-429-3924.
