On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Divorce/Separation on Friday, May 10, 2019.
The extremely popular torch singer Adele and her husband recently announced that they are seeking a divorce. Though they appear to be splitting on relatively good terms, the property division phase of their divorce could be highly complicated.
According to reports, the couple did not enter into a prenuptial agreement, and so they will have to agree on the division of their marital property as part of their divorce settlement. Adele’s estimated worth is somewhere near $180 million, and they own property in the United States and the United Kingdom. The couple will likely have other issues to address, too, such as child custody, child support and perhaps alimony.
While few people have international lifestyles and $180 million fortunes at stake in their divorce proceedings, the legal issues in most divorces are generally the same. However, high asset divorces can be more complicated than others because of the assets involved. While the parties may be able to agree to split a bank account in half, it’s much harder to decide how to divide stock options, or ownership of a business. These cases may require help from a valuation expert just to decide how much the assets are worth before the parties can begin talking about how to divide them.
Alimony, or spousal support, is another issue that can come up in high asset divorce. If one spouse was a high-earner during the marriage, but the other stayed home with the children, or otherwise worked without pay for the family’s wellbeing, most courts decide that even a 50-50 split leaves the stay-at-home spouse at an unfair disadvantage. As a result, many courts impose an obligation for the high-earning spouse pay alimony to their ex.
It’s important to have help from a lawyer even in a relatively amicable divorce. An experienced family law attorney can help clients who are going through a divorce to understand their legal options and work toward a better settlement.
