Columbus High-Asset Divorce Lawyers
Are you facing a high-asset divorce and unsure how to protect your financial interests in Columbus, OH? Unique complications often arise in divorce cases when the couple has accumulated significant assets over the marriage. If you and your spouse have decided to file for divorce in Columbus, OH, it’s important to have our experienced Columbus high-asset divorce lawyers on your team. Call us at (614) 485-8248 to schedule a consultation.At Atkins And Atkins, Attorneys At Law, LLC, our lawyers have years of experience handling complex family law cases. Property division can be extremely contentious in high-asset divorce cases. You can count on us to protect your best interests at every turn and help you navigate the legal process.
Why Call Atkins And Atkins for Legal Help With a High-Asset Divorce in Columbus
Getting a divorce in Columbus, Ohio, is always complicated. When you and your spouse have significant assets, the issues that arise will become even more detailed and complex. Consulting with an experienced Columbus divorce attorney should be your first step if you have substantial assets and are considering divorce.
At Atkins And Atkins, we have the tools to protect you. In fact, members of our legal team have been recognized as “Top 10” divorce attorneys in Columbus and rated by Super Lawyers.
High-worth couples hold significant real estate, stocks, bonds, vehicles, jewelry and even business assets. When substantial assets are involved, valuation is often an extremely complicated process. Our law firm has access to experts who can provide critical evidence to protect you—and your separate property.
It’s never too early to get started. Schedule a confidential consultation with our Columbus family law attorneys to learn about your legal options and steps to protect your interests today.
An Overview of High-Asset Divorces in Ohio
The divorce laws in Ohio are the same regardless of your net worth. That said, the list of marital and separate assets may be much more extensive. Spousal support tends to be more hotly contested.
You’ll have to resolve several key issues before your divorce can be finalized:
- Division of marital assets
- Spousal support
- Child support and child custody in cases involving minor children
Ohio is an equitable distribution state. All marital property must be divided between the two spouses fairly. That doesn’t always mean a 50-50 split.
How Divorce Works in Columbus When One Spouse Hasn’t Worked
It’s not uncommon for one spouse to remain at home, in charge of the children and household, while the other spouse is responsible for generating income for the family.
Each spouse has equal rights to the marital property. Further, the lower-earning spouse may seek spousal support to help maintain their standard of living after the divorce.
How Will a Prenuptial Agreement Impact My High-Asset Divorce?
Prenuptial agreements are common in high-asset divorces. If the prenup is valid, courts will generally enforce its terms.
However, courts may decline to enforce a prenuptial agreement if:
- One party signed while subject to pressure or duress
- One party failed to make a full financial disclosure or hid assets
- The agreement is particularly unreasonable or unfair
- The agreement is designed to encourage divorce
When a prenuptial agreement is fair and reasonable, the judge will likely adhere to its terms. That said, in Ohio, it’s also important to remember that a prenup cannot contain provisions about child support or child custody that aren’t in the best interests of the child.
How Is Property Divided in an Ohio Divorce?
Under Ohio law, property is divided into two categories in divorce: separate property and marital property. Separate property remains the property of the spouse who owned it prior to marriage, while marital property is subject to Ohio’s equitable distribution law.
What Is Separate Property in Ohio?
Separate property is not subject to division in a divorce and may include:
- Any real estate, personal property, or interest in property acquired by one spouse prior to the marriage
- An inheritance received only by one spouse
- Income or interest generated from separate property
- Gifts to one spouse, if clear evidence exists to show the gift was made only to one spouse
- Any property excluded as separate property within a prenuptial agreement
Commingling of assets is often an issue in divorce. Treating separate property as though it belongs to both spouses after the marriage may seem natural. For example, suppose one spouse uses funds from a pre-existing savings account to purchase the marital home. In that case, it may later be classified as marital property, even though only one spouse purchased it.
Separate property doesn’t automatically lose its character as “separate” when it’s commingled during the marriage. That’s only true if it’s possible to trace later-acquired property to separate property. Once tracing becomes impossible, separate property can be recharacterized as marital property.
What Is Marital Property, and How Is Marital Property Divided in an Ohio Divorce?
Marital property is any property acquired during a marriage, including:
- Either spouse’s income or wages
- Real estate or personal property
- Income and appreciation in value on separate property, if attributable to the other spouse’s labor or efforts
Courts consider different factors when dividing marital assets, including:
- The length of the marriage
- The assets and liabilities of each spouse
- Whether it’s desirable to award a family home to a custodial parent
- Tax consequences to each spouse
- Whether it’s desirable to leave an asset intact from an economic perspective
- The liquidity of the distributed property
- The cost of selling an asset
Any relevant factor can be considered when determining how to divide assets.
Ohio courts also consider financial misconduct. If one spouse destroys or conceals assets, the courts can award the other spouse a higher distributive share.
How Is Spousal Support Determined in a High-Asset Divorce in Ohio?
Family courts in Ohio can award spousal support to either spouse upon request. The judge may award spousal support if it is “appropriate and reasonable.” That’s broader than a requirement that the award must be strictly “necessary.”
Courts consider many factors in assessing alimony requests, including:
- Each spouse’s income, assets, and liabilities
- The length of the marriage
- How either spouse contributed to the earning capacity of the other
- Assets awarded to each spouse in the division of marital assets
- Each spouse’s earning abilities
- The standard of living established during the marriage
- The education of each spouse
- Either spouse’s loss of earning capacity due to the performance of household, childcare, and marital duties
- Tax consequences of an award
Courts also have the authority to determine the amount of alimony required and the duration of the payments. Alimony can be received via payments over time or via a lump sum settlement.
Ensuring a Fair Divorce Settlement When Your Spouse Owns Businesses and Property in Columbus
Asset division is extremely complex in high-asset divorces. Neither spouse can legally transfer or conceal assets once the divorce is pending. That said, it’s not uncommon for one spouse to attempt to hide assets.
Having a knowledgeable Columbus high-asset divorce attorney on your team is critical to getting your fair share.
Our lawyers have access to experts in various fields. We’ll call on experts who can help trace property, uncover unfair transfers, and assess the value of hard-to-value assets.
Examples of the types of experts we may engage include:
- Forensic accountants
- Business valuation specialists
- Real estate brokers
- Appraisers
- Tax experts
- Mental health professionals
- Vocational evaluators
Appraisals and expert opinions can be critical to understanding the overall value of your marital assets. When one or both spouses own a business, valuation can be critical to understanding the business’s cash flow and potential future value. Tax professionals can be critical to understanding the implications of dividing any business or investment asset.
You can count on our attorneys to use all of our resources to protect your best interests in a divorce.
Do I Have Any Right to the Businesses My Spouse Owned Prior to Marriage in Ohio?
Again, in Ohio, any property owned by either spouse prior to the marriage is considered separate property, including business assets.
On the other hand, Ohio has equitable distribution rules. That means the asset division in a divorce must be fair.
Say one spouse remained at home to care for children, giving the other spouse an opportunity to grow their business. It’s possible that the caregiver may be entitled to a portion of the business’s appreciation. After all, the business owner may have been unable to focus on growing their business without support from the caregiving spouse.
As you can imagine, these issues can quickly become messy and hotly contested. The best way to protect yourself is to have an experienced lawyer by your side.
Contact Our Experienced Columbus High-Asset Divorce Lawyers for a Consultation Today
High-asset divorce can be especially stressful. If you’re considering divorce, call our Columbus high-asset divorce attorneys at Atkins And Atkins to get the legal representation you deserve today. Our experienced attorneys are here to support you every step of the way. Call our law office to schedule a consultation.
