Sugar Land Divorce Law Blog

Unless a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is involved in a marriage, most property and assets are considered to be jointly owned. This means that when the couple decides to divorce, these assets, no matter who they originally belonged to, will be divided among them. While the property division process can be complicated and emotional, a spouse who is not forthcoming can further complicate the issue.

How can you uncover hidden assets during dissolution? It can be difficult for individuals in Texas and elsewhere to focus on the details of the entire process. Oftentimes, property division is contentious. What can further complicate the matter is having one spouse who is taking the time to hide certain assets from the other. In some cases, this is done strategically throughout the marriage or is done when it is clear that the marriage is coming to an end.

A high asset divorce can require more time, care and consideration than many other divorce cases, as there can be a large amount of property to sort through and protect. Our readers may have heard the news that the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, will be going through a divorce. According to reports, Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, has a net worth of $137 billion, and he is divorcing his wife after 25 years of marriage. Financial experts say that their decisions during the dissolution process could have huge financial ramifications, even impacting the U.S. economy.

Included in Bezos' net worth is a multi-million dollar real estate portfolio, charitable gifts, foundations and roughly 16 percent of Amazon's stock. All of this needs to be divided, and could be split in half if a prenuptial agreement does not exist. How they divide up the Amazon stock could alter and even affect the value of Amazon. It is possible that they could agree to hold on to the stock together, reducing the overall impact. While there is no sign that the divorce is contentious, even an amicable split can pose some problems. Thus, it is important that they carefully work through this high asset divorce.

Ever since you got married two decades ago, your husband has always managed the finances. He has an aptitude for numbers, so it seemed only natural that he keep track of the bills, taxes and your shared financial portfolio.

But when your marriage came crashing to the ground, you were suddenly faced with questions you realized you didn't have the answers to. You have no idea how much your husband's private practice is worth. You know he bought some stocks and made some real estate investments, but you haven't kept track of the details.

A divorce that occurs later in life is oftentimes referred to as a "gray divorce." Whether the couple married in their 20's or 50's, when an older couple dissolves their marriage, there are certain issues that are different, which younger couples are not faced with. Pension and retirement are of particular concern.

How does a divorce that occurs later in life impact retirement? For couples who have been married for numerous years, they likely made plans to spend the rest of their lives together. Their finances and assets were likely tied together. This occurs because couples have future plans when it comes to retirement. The couples are forced to deal with the idea that these accounts should be split during a divorce. This ultimately could postpone the year of retirement, because a spouse will no longer have enough to retire on their own.