Coral Gables High-Asset Divorce Lawyer

Coral Gables is in Miami-Dade County, so a divorce between spouses who last lived together here is generally filed in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. The county's family division sits at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center, 175 N.W. 1st Avenue, Miami, FL 33128. Florida's venue law generally also allows filing where the responding spouse lives, so another county can be proper in some situations, for example after one spouse moves away. We confirm the right county before anything is filed.

Not for every step. You can meet with us at our Coral Gables office on Ponce de Leon Boulevard, which is useful before mediation or trial, when there are valuation reports to go through together. Much of a high-asset case is document work, such as collecting statements and answering the other side's requests, and that usually moves by phone and email. For court, the judge decides whether a hearing is held in person or by video, and we tell you ahead of time.

Yes. Reyes Miller Law Group works in English and Spanish, so you can explain your situation, review your financial affidavit and prepare for mediation in the language you are most comfortable with. In families with ties to Latin America or Spain, bank statements, deeds and company records are often in Spanish. We review them in the original and arrange translations in the form the court requires. Hearings are held in English, so we plan interpretation ahead of time when you will testify.

Often, yes. A Florida court can end the marriage if one spouse meets the six-month residency requirement. Dividing property and setting alimony generally also requires personal jurisdiction over the other spouse, which Florida law allows in situations such as when the marital home was in Florida when the case began, or when the other spouse lived in Florida before it began (section 48.193). Serving papers abroad follows specific rules, sometimes international treaties. Assets outside Florida still count in the marital estate, and we plan early for enforcing orders where they are.

One divorce case handles all of it. The court hearing your divorce divides the whole marital estate, so a Coral Gables home, a condominium in Broward County and a rental house in Palm Beach County are decided together, with no separate case in each county. Each property needs its own valuation, and its mortgage is divided along with it. After the judgment, a deed or a copy of the judgment is generally recorded in the county where each property sits. We list every parcel at the start so nothing is left out.

It can be, in whole or in part. A business started during the marriage is generally marital. One owned before the marriage may stay separate, but growth in its value from either spouse's work during the marriage, or from marital money put into it, can be marital (section 61.075). Under Thompson v. Thompson, 576 So. 2d 267 (Fla. 1991), enterprise goodwill can be divided, while personal goodwill tied to the owner's own skill and reputation cannot. We can review your situation in a free consultation.

Both spouses must make full financial disclosure under Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285, and the financial affidavit is signed under oath. When the numbers do not add up, discovery allows subpoenas to banks and businesses, written questions, document requests and depositions, and a forensic accountant can trace transfers. If a spouse intentionally wasted or depleted marital assets after filing, or within the two years before, the court can take that into account when dividing the estate (section 61.075(1)(i)). Tell us your concerns at the first meeting so the right requests go out early.

Equity awards and deferred pay are often earned over several years, so only part may belong to the marriage. Section 61.075 treats vested and nonvested benefits and deferred compensation accrued during the marriage as marital assets. The details matter: grant dates, vesting schedules, what each award was meant to reward and whether it can be transferred at all. When an award cannot be split, the judgment can divide it when it vests or offset it with other assets. Tax treatment matters too, so we coordinate with your tax adviser.

A valid premarital agreement usually controls the issues it covers, such as separate property and alimony. Under section 61.079 it must be in writing and signed by both spouses. A court will not enforce it if the challenging spouse proves it was not signed voluntarily, came from fraud, duress, coercion or overreaching, or was unconscionable when signed and that spouse lacked fair financial disclosure, a written waiver of disclosure and adequate knowledge of the other's finances. It cannot reduce a child's right to support. We review the agreement early in the case.

The court first decides whether one spouse needs alimony and whether the other can pay it (section 61.08). For a business owner, finding the real income is often the hard part: salary may be only one piece, alongside distributions, retained earnings, personal expenses paid by the company or income that changes from year to year. Permanent alimony is no longer available, and durational alimony cannot exceed the lesser of the recipient's reasonable need or 35 percent of the difference in net incomes. We can go over your numbers at a free consultation.