High Net Worth Divorce Blues
Another Miami power couple has announced their divorce; it seems like a common occurrence here. Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and his wife Nikki recently announced that they have filed for divorce after seven years of marriage. Erik Spoelstra has been a coach for the Miami Heat for 16 seasons, contributing to more than 1,200 victories for the team; his wife, the former Nikki Sapp, met him when she was a dancer for the Heat, and they married in 2016. In typical celebrity divorce fashion, the couple’s joint statement affirms their commitment to co-parenting their children and requests privacy. Certainly, being bombarded by the camera flashes of paparazzi every time you leave your house and by social media snark every time to look at your phone to order a pizza or to find directions to the dentist’s office makes the stress of divorce worse, but don’t assume that the celebrities who have the privilege of getting divorced behind closed doors have it so easy. Dividing an abundant marital estate is stressful; it is much more work than simply agreeing to sell your marital home and each move in with your respective parents. Divorce is never easy, but no matter your tax bracket, you can finalize your divorce with less stress if you hire a Boca Raton divorce lawyer.
Divorce Is Messier When You Are Wealthy, Even If the Public Doesn’t Find Out About It
When you get divorced, you and your spouse must decide, during mediation, how to divide your marital property; if you cannot reach an agreement, the case will go to trial, and the court will decide. Florida is an equitable distribution state, which means that the court decides on a case-by-case basis the fairest way to divide the marital property. Marital property is all property acquired during the marriage, regardless of which spouse earned which paycheck or which spouse’s name is on the title to a real estate property, bank account, or movable asset. Separate property is assets you owned before marrying your spouse, but if the value of the property has appreciated during the marriage, then the appreciation amount counts as marital property.
Many high-net-worth couples possess their most valuable assets in the form of business interests and stock market investments. The value of these assets fluctuates quickly; therefore, it may be necessary to summon the testimony of financial experts to determine the current value of an asset or how much it appreciated during the marriage. This means that there is an additional layer of facts about which to disagree before you can get down to the business of deciding how to divide the marital property. With the help of your divorce lawyer, though, you may be able to reach an agreement about dividing the marital property without going to trial.
Contact Schwartz | White About High Asset Divorce
A South Florida family law attorney can help you divide your marital property equitably, if much of it takes the form of business ownership interests. Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.
Source:
wptv.com/sports/basketball/heat/heat-head-coach-erik-spoelstra-wife-nikki-spoelstra-file-for-divorce
