Complex or high net worth divorce cases implicate issues related to commercial real estate, privately held businesses, assets held by trusts, domestic and international investment ventures, sophisticated tax planning, and other intricate financial holdings.

A complex divorce must be approached with a unique skill set and individualized strategy; a boilerplate approach can have devastating financial ramifications.

The Pickney Law Firm clients with substantial assets and complex holdings benefit from over twenty years of experience of our founder, Christian Aaron Pickney, in handling high net worth divorce cases.

Mr. Pickney has represented members some of New York’s most prominent families in real estate, the construction industry, finance and banking, as well as prominent medical and legal professionals, including some of the most respected attorneys in the State of New York.

Whether a complex divorce case is contentious or amicable, high net worth individuals require an attorney with the skill, experience, and knowledge to work with accountants, financial planners, corporate counsel, real estate counsel, and trust and estates attorneys to protect and preserve your family’s wealth through divorce and for future generations.

At The Pickney Law Firm, we don’t just answer your questions, we craft strategy and solutions that fit your needs and achieve the results you deserve.

Common Issues in Complex Divorce Cases:

• Analysis of income for calculation of support obligations.
• Preservation or division of assets held in trust.
• Allegations that a party has hidden assets or cash.
• Equitable distribution of the appreciation of separate property.
• Exclusive use and occupancy of a marital residence.
• Proper utilization of in-kind division of equities to maximize tax benefits.
• Tax impacting of assets used to off-set other dissimilar assets.
• Effective planning of Distributive Award payments.
• Valuation and equitable distribution of a business owned by a party, including any tax implications in the valuation of businesses.
• Proper valuation discounting of real estate assets and property management companies.
• Amount or duration of maintenance (spousal support).
• Dispute over the actual extent of the lifestyle of the parties.

The Pickney Law Firm’s retainer fee for representation in a Complex Divorce starts at $10,000.00.

Regardless of the approach which best fits your needs, or will achieve the results you desire, there are many common issues which must be resolved in any divorce. Please call The Pickney Law Firm to schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys for more information and to see how we can help guide you and your family through the following issues:

Custody: In the State of New York, custody is divided into two types: Legal Custody and Physical (“Residential”) Custody:

• Legal Custody: Pertains to the right to make major decisions on behalf of a child. Common examples of a major decision would be those involving medical treatment, religious education, and academic issues.
• Physical Custody (“Residential Custody”): Pertains to which parent the child will primarily reside with. This parent will be entitled to receive child support from the non-custodial parent, and the child will attend school in this parent’s school district.

Parenting Time (“Visitation”): A non-custodial parent is entitled to Parenting Time with his or her child.

• Parenting Time involves weekly visits, holiday visits, and extended time during school breaks and summer vacation. Parties are free to negotiate schedules which best fit their lives and the needs of their children, however a common approach is to alternate weekends, provide for one or more mid-week visit, alternate holidays and school breaks, and provide for one or two weeks of extended time during summer vacation.

Child Support: In the State of New York, a custodial parent is entitled to receive support on behalf of a child until that child turns 21 years old.

Child support is calculated under the Child Support Standards Act (“CSSA”), and is primarily based on a percentage of the non-custodial parent’s income:

• 1 Child – 17% of the non-custodial parent’s income
• 2 Children – 25% of the non-custodial parent’s income
• 3 Children – 29% of the non-custodial parent’s income
• 4 Children – 31% of the non-custodial parent’s income
• 5+ Children – No Less Than 35% of the non-custodial parent’s income

Maintenance (“Spousal Support” or “Alimony”): When there is a disparity in the income of two parties, the higher earning party is often required to pay maintenance to the lower earing party.

The amount of maintenance is calculated pursuant to a formula which takes into account each party’s income and whether either party will be required to pay child support. The duration of maintenance is based on the length of the marriage. Unlike child support, maintenance is tax deductible to the payor, and taxable to the recipient.

Equitable Distribution: New York is an “equitable distribution” state, meaning that marital property is divided equitably, and not automatically evenly (i.e. 50% to each spouse).

As a general rule, marital property is any asset acquired by either party during the marriage, regardless of which party actually purchased the asset, or whose name the asset is held in. Martial debts are also equitably distributed in a divorce, with similar rules applying in determining what constitutes a marital debt.

Assets held by either party from prior to the marriage, or which are inherited during the marriage, are frequently that party’s separate property and not subject to equitable distribution.