Reasons to time your high-asset divorce well

Most people do not think much about the timing of their divorce. Once they decide they want out of the marriage, they tend to want to get it over and done with as quickly as possible. 

Yet timing things wrong could prove incredibly costly if you are wealthy. Here are some of the things to think about:

The tax year

The date of your divorce could affect your ability to choose between filing a joint tax return and two separate ones. The divorce will also affect what assets you have and must therefore declare. Sometimes it is better for one or both parties if you delay the divorce or delay certain actions related to the divorce such as selling the family home.

The changing value of assets

Let’s say you own a business and while your spouse does not want any part of it they will expect compensation for allowing you to keep it all. If you divorce when your business is riding high, you may need to pay them far more than if you divorce when things are going less well. If you can see that business is likely to do much better or worse in the near future, that might influence you to rush ahead with your divorce or to hold off a little.

The valuation date

Each state chooses how it picks a date to value a couple’s assets in a divorce. If you are divorcing in California it will be “as near as practicable to the time of trial” but it is sometimes possible to move that for some or all of the assets with prior notice.

Learning more about the legal implications of a divorce can help you time it better.