Vancouver Mandarin Chinese High Net Worth Divorce Lawyer

If you are a high net worth Chinese immigrant or investor who is getting a divorce, you’ve come to the right place. Our team speaks fluent Mandarin, which means you can get help in the language you’re most comfortable speaking.

We also have extensive experience with complex high net worth divorces. With our backing in real estate in business law we have a breadth of understanding that can help you preserve the worth of your assets while managing the complex division of high net worth assets. 

High Net Worth Divorces are More Complicated

Often a high net worth divorce will need to involve other professionals. Certified valuation professionals will need to assess the worth of businesses. Appraisers will need to assess the true value of real estate assets. Tax professionals will need to help you determine what the tax consequences of any given proposed settlement might look like. 

We will need to examine and interpret a wide variety of financial statements; income won’t be the only driver of a settlement. Corporate P&Ls, appreciation and depreciation schedules, bonuses, executive compensation, and stock options may all play a role in what the eventual divorce settlement looks like. 

Our firm helps in a variety of ways. For example, we can help you negotiate a fair spousal support agreement, help you protect your control of your business, and can help you defend any existing prenuptial agreements. We work hard to help you retain control of the assets you care most about. 

High Net Worth Divorces are More Contentious

There’s more at stake in a high net worth divorce, which often means a longer, hotter legal fight. It can mean that one or both parties are tempted to try to hide assets, which means working with forensic accountants to make sure every asset has been uncovered and accounted for.

There can even be disputes over how much each party makes. For example in the recent divorce case Nani v. Nani, the husband owned a property management and real estate company. Mrs. Nani claimed her husband made $653,000 per income was $440,000 per year, and the dispute hinged around how pre-tax corporate earnings should be added to the husband’s income. 

Obviously a nearly $200,000 annual difference would be poised to make a great impact on the amount of child and spousal support the courts would require Mr. Nani to pay. Courts will often consider the historical pattern of retained earnings and the corporate debt level, as well as the industry, the company’s debt obligations, and other factors when attempting to make such determinations, and a good lawyer’s arguments can help ensure those factors work in your favor, rather than against you. 

We do recommend attempting alternative dispute resolution or a collaborative divorce to save time and money. Often in high net worth divorces we can pinpoint the best cases and worst cases if the divorce goes to trial. We can work to help you develop a settlement that falls somewhere between those two extremes. Assets may be divided in a variety of ways, and some ways create more equitable conditions than others. 

Creative solutions like lump sum spousal support payments, equalization payments, buy-outs, and other steps can help you protect the value of your assets or provide you with the assets that matter most to you. We also save you time and money, ensuring that you don’t waste energy fighting for an arrangement that Canadian courts will refuse to honor or back. 

International Assets

The presence of international assets makes high net worth divorces even more complicated for our Chinese clients. We understand this, and understand how to navigate cross border issues. 

If you still have assets in China, Hong Kong, the United States, or any other part of the world we can make sure that they are handled advantageously when it comes time to divide up the property between you and your spouse. 

FAQ

Does adultery affect divorce settlements in Vancouver?

No. Adultery may only make it possible to divorce your spouse faster. It has no bearing on the division of assets. Family courts truly do not care who caused the divorce, who behaved badly during the marriage, or who hurt whom.

There is one exception. If the adulterer spent marital assets on the paramour then courts may claw back that amount and award it to the wronged spouse. If you spent $15,000 treating your lover to a week in Paris, for example, then the court may order you to pay the same amount to your spouse during the division of assets. 

How is spousal support determined in a high net worth divorce?

Recognize that if your spouse and children have become accustomed to a certain standard of living that this will have an impact on the amount of spousal support that may be required. 

The courts usually take a dim view of a high-earner spouse attempting to drive their ex into poverty, both because this is not in the best interests of the children and because the lower-earning spouse often contributed to the marriage and the high-earner’s success, whether they earned a formal income or not.

The courts will generally use spousal support formulas, but the higher the net worth of the parties involved, the more they may deviate from these formulas. The courts will generally try to come up with a figure that is fair and which is based on a number of important factors. 

High net worth couples may even need to guard against a situation which requires their very estate to pay out spousal support. We often suggest working a spousal support cap or termination date into a divorce settlement, or offering a lump sum payment. This can help avoid issues in the future, such as having to pay more due to a post-separation increase, or having to take on a new and unwelcome monthly obligation.  

See also, Vancouver Mandarin Chinese Spousal Support Lawyer

How is child support determined in a high net worth divorce?

Minimum child support is set by the Federal Child Support Guidelines. However, judges have every right to deviate from these guidelines and set a higher support amount if the payor earns more than $150,000 per year. 

High net worth couples are also more likely to have special expenses. For example, most high net worth couples are already paying private school tuition, and courts rarely feel that it is in the child’s best interests for that education to stop just because a divorce has taken place. 

The amount of child support paid also factors into the amount of spousal support awarded.  

In addition, a high net worth couple generally has variable income, not simply a standard paycheck from a single job. All business income, rental income, and dividends must be taken into account. 

All told, this means that high net worth couples must go through a more extensive negotiation or litigation process over child support than the average middle class couple who may simply default to the formulas. In addition, in cases where enforcement may become an issue as in many Chinese divorces, judges may order a high net worth spouse to pay lump sum child support. In some cases, we even suggest offering lump sum child support in order to secure more advantageous terms in other areas. This would hardly be possible in a standard middle class divorce, but being a high net worth person offers extraordinary options for negotiation and settlement building. 

See also: Vancouver Mandarin Chinese Child Support Lawyer.

What happens if assets are hidden in a high net worth divorce?

Attempting to hide assets comes with dire consequences. These could include fines, being required to pay legal fees, or even all of the hidden assets being instantly awarded to your spouse. Some individuals have even gone to jail for hiding assets.

Hiding assets can be very tempting for those who have properties or businesses in China, as the assumption is that they will never be found. Yet it is more than possible to locate assets in China and to account for them. 

Hiding assets is never worth it. Don’t be tempted to try it: reach out to our law office to get help protecting the assets you’re most worried about, instead. 

Get Help Today

Our team has helped some of Vancouver’s most prominent people obtain fair divorces while protecting and preserving the value of their assets. We can help you do the same.

You’ll find us skilled, responsive, and dedicated. We’re known for being some of Canada’s savviest negotiators and toughest family law litigators. We develop sophisticated solutions to tough legal problems, and are devoted to defending your interests. We will also work hard to protect your reputation and your privacy throughout the process. 

Chinese Lawyer Vancouver serves clients in Vancouver, Abbotsford, Langley, Surrey, and White Rock. Call to set up an appointment today.