Important Assets To Disclose To Your Divorce Lawyer If You Are Wealthy And Going Through A Divorce

Going through a divorce is never an easy thing. However, if you are a wealthy individual, there can be a few extra concerns when it comes to losing your money or your assets. It is important to be upfront with your divorce lawyer about what you own. Here is a look at some of the things to make sure you disclose to your lawyer. 

Let the attorney know about any real estate you own. 

It is not uncommon for people with a lot of wealth to invest some portion of their money in real estate. You may own several homes or several pieces of real estate, and those properties may not even be located in the state where you reside. Make a list of any of these real estate properties, and give the list to your attorney. If you do not provide this information to the court system during the divorce, it may be assumed that you are trying to withhold property from your spouse. It is far better for you to provide this info to your attorney than for the judge to find out from your spouse that there is property you have not mentioned. 

Inform the attorney if you have offshore bank accounts or business holdings. 

Offshore bank accounts or business holdings are a common way for wealthy individuals to prevent having to pay income taxes on certain amounts of money. However, that does not necessarily mean these monetary assets will not be brought up when you are going through a divorce. The judge can order you to share whatever is held in these places with your spouse in the divorce decree. If your spouse has evidence of the accounts, they can provide this to the court. It is better if your attorney knows about these accounts in advance, even if you are not certain if they will be brought up. 

Discuss any large sums of money you hold in retirement accounts. 

Even though retirement funds can be pulled directly from your salary and deposited, these funds may be affected by your divorce. It is never a good idea to avoid letting the attorney know that you have money held in retirement accounts and this information is brought up in court by your spouse. If your attorney knows in advance, they can make plans to show the family law judge how and why this money is yours and should not be part of the divorce proceedings. 

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