Critical Steps in the Early Stages of a High-Asset Divorce

In a high-asset divorce, proper planning and effective strategy can make all the difference. With the help of your high-asset divorce attorney, you need to develop a strategic plan of action in the early stages of your divorce to increase the odds of a beneficial outcome. Here are some of the critical steps to plan for and consider.

Assemble a Team of Experienced Professionals

In a high-asset divorce, you do great harm to yourself by not assembling a quality team. In addition to an experienced Florida, high net worth divorce attorney, you will need an experienced tax advisor as well as a skilled financial planner.

High-asset divorces can be increasingly complex, and having these advisors will help you do the following:

  • Understand Unique Tax Issues Stemming From Capital Gains, Capital Losses, Alimony Deductibility and More
  • Ways to Increase or Decrease Income, Depending on Your High-Asset Divorce Needs
  • How to Restructure Business Budgets and Personal Budgets
  • How to Shelter Assets Legally or Discover Hidden Assets
  • And More

In short, proper divorce planning requires admitting that there are plenty of strategies and tactics that you need to tap into in order to maximize your chances of successful high-asset divorce negotiation. Having a team of experienced professionals by your side is the best way to ensure you do just that.

Child Support and Spousal Support Considerations

When measured over time, child support and spousal support can run well into the millions of dollars for high-asset divorces. As a result, it may be in a spouse’s best interests to insure child support and alimony obligations. This is particularly important for the spouse who is receiving the payments.

Otherwise, that income stream can vanish when a former spouse passes. As part of divorce negotiations, it can be in the interest of both spouses to purchase and maintain a life insurance policy in an amount needed to pay child support and alimony to prepare for a former spouse’s passing. That way, children from the marriage will be provided for and former spouse’s will receive the financial support they deserve.

Similarly, before getting too deep into divorce negotiations, consider the educational needs of any children. College tuition is incredibly expensive and continues to rise, but proper planning by both spouses can help ensure children have a soundly prepared path for their education.

Plan for the Expected and the Unexpected Alike

Proper planning requires budgeting for the fees paid to your team of professionals and how much you are willing to spend. A good strategy will balance the need for prolonged negotiation with the expenses being incurred to actually negotiate. A good cost-benefit analysis and constant assessment of your budget will ensure that you don’t overspend during negotiations. All of these costs are expected parts of a high-asset divorce that you can plan in advance. However, you also need to prepare for the unexpected.


Divorce evokes a wide range of emotion, and no two spouses will react the same. Frustration, anger, guilt, worry and anxiety can all creep into your psyche when you least expect it. Warding off these feelings is easier when you have confidence in your high-asset divorce attorney. The next installment of this high-asset divorce series will help you assuage your fears by highlighting what to look for in your high-asset Florida divorce attorney.

Contact Destin divorce attorney John F. Greene or call 850-213-2673 for a legal consultation to discuss your high-asset Florida divorce.


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