Complex Property Valuation & Division

Texas Complex Property Valuation and Division

When determining the outcome of your divorce, there are two major facets the court will consider that will have an impact on the financial impact of the resolution of the community property in your divorce:valuation and division.

Before the court can divide your marital estate, it must value the assets in your marital estate.This could be as simple as just looking at the balance of accounts held by you and your spouses, or it could be more complex including appraising real property interests, i.e. a homestead, oil and gas interests, ranch land, etc., or conducting complex business valuation.The more complex the assets and their valuation, the more critical it will be for you to hire an attorney who understands how to properly defend or attack the valuation of a marital asset.

It is important to remember that the valuation of any particular asset in a divorce could have a significant financial impact on the overall division of your marital estate.Consider the following example:husband and wife are getting a divorce.It has been determined that wife will be awarded stock she owns in the business she started.Because the stock will be awarded to the wife, the higher the value on the stock, the more likely it will be that the court will award the husband more assets to compensate him for the value of the stock awarded to the wife.Vice versa, the lower the stock is valued, the more likely it will be that the court will award the husband fewer assets to compensate him for the value of the stock awarded to the wife.

Because of the impact the valuation of a particular asset can have on your overall property settlement, the more critical it is that your attorney understands the issues at stake when valuing marital assets. At Piper & Turner, PLLC, we have extensive experience in the valuation of high value assets and the legal and accounting criteria necessary to value these assets.The attorneys at Piper & Turner, PLLC will utilize their vast network of forensic CPAs and forensic appraisers to value the assets in your divorce.Our attorneys have been successful in defending valuations beneficial to our clients and attacking and disproving those that are not.The financial impact on your divorce could be in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in some instances.

Once the court has valued all the assets in your divorce, the court will divide those assets.It is important to remember in your divorce that the court will not necessarily divide your assets 50/50 (equally).Rather, the Texas Family Code states that the court will make a “just and right” division.Tex. Fam. Code 7.001.The Texas Supreme Court has given guidance to courts in determining what constitutes a “just and right” decision.Factors for the court to consider include, but are not limited to, (1) the spouses' capacities and abilities, (2) benefits which the party not at fault would have derived from continuation of the marriage, (3) business opportunities, (4) education, (5) relative physical conditions, (6) relative financial condition and obligations, (7) disparity of ages, (8) size of separate estates, and (9) the nature of the property.Murff v. Murff, 615 S.W.2d 696, 699 (Tex. 1981).The court may also, but does not have to, consider fault in the break up of the marriage in deciding division of property.Young v. Young, 609 S.W.2d 758 761 (Tex. 1980).Fault in the break of the marriage could include adultery, cruelty, such as family violence, drug and alcohol addiction, as well as other issues that may have caused the breakup of a marriage. Awarding one spouse even a few percentage points more of the community estate can sometimes shift large amounts of money from one spouse to another.Because of this, it is financially imperative that you hire attorneys who know what factors will sway a court to divide your community property in a just and right manner that benefits you.

Of course, all of this could be impacted if there is a pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement in place. Spouses often enter into property agreements both before and after their marriage.If these agreements are found by the court to be valid and enforceable, the property will be divided pursuant to the agreement.Because of this, whether you are seeking to enforce a property agreement or combat an unfair property agreement, it is critical that you hire attorneys who understand how to both attack and defend these agreements.

A fair marital property division is often the most important issue to be resolved in the divorce process.If your divorce will involve significant assets, Piper & Turner, PLLC, is ready to help.We are a family law litigation firm that focuses on complex divorce issues and complex property divisions.For people divorcing, we offer the aggressive and skillful representation necessary to ensure that the final result achieved is both fair and equitable to our clients.

At Piper & Turner, PLLC, we have a particular expertise for high value divorce cases and cases in which the division of property is hotly contested.The division of property can have a huge financial impact on your life and your future. It is financially critical that you have attorneys who understand the how a court should divide your marital estate.

We offer a complete range of legal services in areas related to complex marital property division:

• Tracing separate and hidden assets
• Spousal maintenance/support orders and agreements
• Property division
• Property division enforcements
• Enforcing Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements
• Reimbursement Claims
• Wasting of community assets by a spouse
• Fraud or breach of fiduciary duty

Our experienced trial attorneys understand the factors that will sway a court in determining how your assets should be valued and divided.Attorney James W. Piper is a Board Certified family law attorney who has been serving families throughout Texas for more than 36 years.Mr. Piper has been named a Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly Magazine, is an AV rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, is listed in Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, is a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists and is widely considered one of the most well respected family law attorneys in Central Texas.Mr. Piper's partner, Travis L. Turner, also a Board Certified family law attorney, has been named a Rising Star by Texas Monthly Magazine and is a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists.Mr. Turner, with his extensive litigation and courtroom experience, has rapidly become known as one of the most prominent young family law attorneys in the Austin area.Both Mr. Piper and Mr. Turner, along with the attorneys of Piper & Turner, PLLC, form a unique and unmatched team of lawyers with the talent and experience needed to gain success for our clients both inside and outside of the courtroom.

Contact our office to schedule an opportunity to meet with one of our experienced attorneys about your divorce and property division.Based on our experience, we can clearly explain how Central Texas family courts are likely to view your situation and we will guide you through the entire process. Our lawyers pride themselves on offering our clients honest and realistic assessments about their cases while zealously advocating for the needs of each individual client.Let us help you get the peace of mind about divorce and property division.

Contact Piper & Turner, PLLC to learn more about how we can help you weather the storm.