At the law offices of Randal A. Lowry we are prepared to assist clients with the division of marital assets in even the most complex business and personal estates. For more than 30 years, we have been helping people in Northeast Ohio achieve their goals in the process of divorce including many prominent business owners, business executives and professionals.
The steps in the division of marital assets include identifying all marital assets, placing fair market values on the assets, and dividing the same.
Attorney Randal Lowry's background in finance and working in close connection with forensic accountants, business appraisers, real estate appraisers, and compensation experts ensures that all assets are properly valued including cases of closely-held businesses, professional practices and complex marital estates.
Marital assets include not only real estate holdings (homes, vacation properties and investment properties), cars and personal possessions, but also:
- Closely-held businesses and professional practices
- Retirement accounts, IRAs, and 401k plans
- Stock Options and Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs)
- Antiques and collectibles
In the case of a business, an increase in the value of a business during the time of the marriage will be considered as a marital asset and it will be the job of the court to decide how that asset will be divided. A business may be sold and the proceeds divided, or one party may buy the business interest of the other party through payment of a lump sum or in a payment plan.
Separate Assets
Assets that one spouse owned before the marriage or which are inherited during the marriage are generally considered to be the property of that spouse and assets accumulated during the marriage (other than through inheritance) are considered as marital assets. It will be the role of the attorney to trace assets - including inheritances and premarital assets - back to their entrance into the estate to determine if they are eligible for division or will remain in the possession of only one spouse.
Financial Misconduct or Mismanagement or Deception (Distributive Award)
In situations in which one spouse has deceived the other and mismanaged funds, for example by accumulating gambling debt or credit card debt, the judge may choose to award additional assets to the other spouse in compensation; which is known as a distributive award.
If it is revealed that a spouse has hidden assets in anticipation of a divorce situation, our office will aggressively pursue the client's interests in seeing that those assets are shared.
We handle divorce, child custody and parenting time, division of marital property and other family law matters. Contact our office to learn more about property division.
