People lead different lives in Tennessee and each one is unique despite what people see on the outside. Just as each marriage is unique, each divorce is unique as well. Each divorce may deal with similar issues, but how those issues are decided vary depending on the circumstances of the marriage.
Each divorce with children will have to make determinations on child custody, parenting time and child support. However, if there are no minor children from the marriage, this will not be an issue. Also, each divorce will have to deal with the issue of spousal maintenance, but that does not mean that it will be ordered in every divorce. Finally couples will have to divide their assets and debts. This can be a simple process if the couple does not own many assets, but it can be the most complicated part of the divorce in a high asset divorce.
In a high asset divorce it takes time to gather all the assets and then each asset has to be valued before any division can occur. Forensic accountants are often utilized to assist in this process. These accountants can assist in finding assets, determining the marital and non-marital values of each asset, the tax basis based on capital gains for the assets, and creating balance sheets to equalize what each party will receive. They can also assist in determining each party’s true income from all sources and try and find any dissipation of assets or transfers of funds that a spouse tries to keep them from their spouse.
People in Tennessee have varying levels of income and total assets in their possession. So, when people start to divide assets in a divorce there are varying levels of complication. In high asset divorces, many time professionals such as forensic accountants are needed to help determine the total marital assets and value them. After this occurs the couple can then start trying to divide the assets or use the evidence to prepare for trial if they are unable reach agreements. Experienced attorneys understand the law and can help make sense of all the evidence after a forensic accountant provides their analysis.
Source: American Bar Association, “Forensic Accounting Overview,” accessed on Aug. 17, 2017