Property & Asset Division Attorneys for Complex Marital Estates
Dividing a marital estate that includes a privately held company, carried interest, unvested equity, and multiple properties can be one of the most technically demanding parts of a divorce. BZB Family Law handles property division for founders, executives, and other high-net-worth clients across Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, and the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
- Our Team has the skill and experience to analyze issues related to Community Property, Separate Property, and everything in between. For example, some of the complex issues we can address are:
- Property owned before marriage or received during the marriage as a gift or inheritance.
- Where the parties blended finances in ways that can make characterization complicated.
- A business started before marriage but grown during it.
- A separate property down payment used to buy a family home, or years of community income used to pay down a separate mortgage.
- A situation where a couple changed the character of an asset during the marriage through a written transmutation agreement.
- Evaluating enforceability of prenuptial or postnuptial agreements addressing how assets should be treated in the event of a dissolution.
- Our Team understands the methods and legal analysis to value businesses, equity, and executive compensation. For instance:
- A privately held company does not come with a market price attached to it the way a publicly traded company might.
- Valuing a business can require an expert applying accepted methodologies, income-based, market-based, or asset-based approaches.
- We work with valuation professionals who understand founder-stage and growth-stage companies specifically, not just generic small business valuation.
- Analyzing equity compensation, including restricted stock units and options granted during the marriage but vesting afterward which require a formula to determine what portion is community property and what portion may be separate property.
- Deferred compensation, signing bonuses paid over multiple years, and performance-based awards tied to future milestones each require their own analysis, something our team evaluates during the dissolution process.
- Division of Assets and Debts
- Retirement accounts, pensions, and deferred compensation plans require their own division mechanism, typically a Qualified Domestic Relations Order for accounts governed by federal law.
- Real properties including the family home, rental properties and vacation homes can become emotional flashpoints separate from their financial value, and we help clients determine if keeping them actually serves their long-term interests or whether a sale and division of proceeds makes more sense.
- We assist in analyzing any debts or other obligations and how to assign appropriate to an asset, or to divide between the parties.
Why Clients Choose BZB for Property Division
We bring decades of experience, our forensic accounting relationships, and the litigation record to handle the complex analysis and determination of these issues. Our founding partners are Certified Family Law Specialists and recognized Super Lawyers, credentials built on years of complex financial litigation. When settlement produces a fair result, we get there efficiently. When it doesn’t, we’re prepared to make the case in front of a judge.
Schedule a Confidential Consultation
If your divorce involves a business, significant equity, multiple properties, or accounts you suspect the other side hasn’t fully disclosed, the numbers deserve careful scrutiny before any agreement is signed. BZB Family Law offers confidential consultations to review your marital estate and outline a strategy for a fair division. Call (408) 541-1400 or request a consultation online to speak with our team directly.
