If you and your spouse are ending your marriage, and your marriage can be accurately described as a “high-asset” union, setting priorities for your property division process will not just serve as a strategic approach; it will be a truly consequential one.
Property division at the end of high-asset marriages, generally characterized by significant and diverse portfolios, requires a thoughtful and strategic approach better to ensure a fair and equitable division of assets.
Clarifying what matters most
High-asset property division processes often involve a range of properties, investments, business interests and possibly international assets. The emotional, practical and financial stakes are high, demanding a clear-headed approach to decision-making. Setting priorities early in the divorce proceedings can help streamline negotiations, minimize the potential for conflict, and better ensure that you focus on securing assets that are most critical to your future financial stability.
You’ll first want to distinguish between what is valuable and what is invaluable to you. This may include primary residences, vacation homes, investment portfolios or shares in a family business. Identifying these priorities helps to focus the negotiation on assets that are non-negotiable or somehow critical to your financial security post-divorce.
Understanding your priorities, and, by extension, your spouse’s priorities, can provide strategic leverage during negotiations. It allows for the possibility of trade-offs where you can concede less important assets in exchange for those you value more. This strategic positioning can lead to more favorable outcomes, better ensuring that you can secure assets that are not just of high value but of high importance to you.
Additionally, because high-asset divorces can be protracted and expensive, setting priorities can help you concentrate your resources—time, energy and legal fees—on pursuing what’s most important.
Ultimately, setting priorities is about protecting your interests. It’s about ensuring that the outcome of the property division process aligns with your needs, values, and future aspirations. As such, taking time to think through what matters most carefully is an effort that will pay off.