One of the biggest fears for people who get divorced is how they will fare financially after the smoke has cleared and they have moved on from their marriages. Marital dissolutions involving large amounts of money feature an extra level of drama and intensity. Some tips can help people facing divorce in California to make decisions that will enable them to protect their financial futures.
One area that is often overlooked when combing over assets in a divorce is life insurance. People often look at life insurance as simply another version of insurance, such as auto or homeowner’s insurance, instead of viewing it as a valuable asset. Many wealthy individuals, in particular, have accumulated significant value in policies without their spouses even realizing this simply because their life insurance policies weren’t on their radar.
When financial analysis is being conducted during a divorce, it is important to make sure that life insurance policies are thoroughly reviewed. These policies can be challenging assets to distribute because they are structured in varying ways, based on a client’s unique goals and needs and are often kept in a trust for the purposes of estate planning. A valuation expert who understands how to determine the proper value of a life insurance policy and can competently recommend how a policy can be fairly divided may be essential.
The more than two divorcing individuals in California can try to see eye-to-eye, the more mutually agreeable and beneficial the outcome of their divorce proceeding may be. If two people can’t negotiate on asset division on their own, they will have to take their issues before a judge. When this happens, the final settlement may not be to the liking of one or both parties to the divorce.
Source: Forbes, “Getting The Most From A High-Dollar Divorce“, Russ Alan Prince, Dec. 1, 2014