Tech industry can spark challenging high-asset divorces

Divorcing spouses in New York may find the end of their marriages to be a challenging time in both personal and practical contexts. Ending the emotional involvement of a marriage after a long, intense relationship can be particularly difficult, and these challenges can only be exacerbated in the case of high-asset divorces that involve complex assets.

For people in the tech industry, property division can bring its own unique challenges. This is especially true when one or both partners are not only enjoying high-powered, well-compensated careers but are also business owners or investors in the startup economy. Many people in the tech industry are involved in innovative technologies and companies as well as trends in divorce.

When a company is running on venture capital, or a promising invention is not yet sold or contracted, asset division can be particularly complicated. This can be exacerbated when a party postpones a sale or monetization in order to lower an asset’s value in the divorce or obscure its true potential value. It can also be difficult when startup companies are not yet sold or put on the market. Shares in the company may be the main asset that needs to be divided. This can mean that ex-spouses are now partners in one another’s businesses. Since the startup economy often involves newly developed businesses created during the marriage, there are many circumstances in which prenuptial agreements are either nonexistent or irrelevant.

In some tech-industry cases, a divorce could impel a startup toward a sale in order to split assets more cleanly. In other situations, other assets may be divided less evenly in order for one party to retain his or her business. A divorce lawyer can help people in high-asset divorces deal with the challenges of property division and achieve a fair settlement while protecting their interests and the future of their businesses and inventions.