When the estate is complex, strategy is everything.
Closely-held businesses, executive compensation packages, multi-property portfolios, restricted stock, inherited wealth, and the privacy concerns that come with all of it. Our high-net-worth practice is built for the issues a guideline calculator can't solve.
What makes HNW different
In a high-asset divorce, the easy answers stop working. Disclosure becomes a forensic exercise. Valuations require experts. Tax consequences shape every settlement structure. And the privacy of your business, your investors, and your children becomes a strategic priority of its own.
We work alongside forensic accountants, business valuators, vocational experts, and tax counsel to build cases the other side has to take seriously — and to settle them when settlement protects you better than trial.
A practice built around your assets.
Business Owner Divorce
Valuation, goodwill, buyouts, and protecting operating control of a closely-held company.
Explore →Real Estate Division
Family residence, rentals, and investment portfolios — Moore/Marsden, Watts, and Epstein analyses.
Explore →Executive Compensation
Stock options, RSUs, deferred comp, and time-rule allocations under Hug and Nelson.
Explore →Hidden Assets & Forensic Discovery
Lifestyle analysis, tracing, subpoenas, and forensic accountant collaboration.
Explore →A four-stage HNW engagement
- 01Discreet consultation
Understand the estate, the relationships, and what you most need to protect.
- 02Forensic mapping
Identify and value every asset class — businesses, equity, real estate, deferred comp, trusts.
- 03Strategy & structure
Build a settlement architecture that addresses tax, control, and continuity.
- 04Resolution or trial
Settle when it serves you. Litigate firmly when it doesn't.
Cross-border experience
Foreign assets, choice-of-law, and Hague Convention coordination.
Expert network
Valuators, forensic accountants, tax counsel, and vocational experts on call.
Privacy-first practice
Sealing motions, protective orders, and confidentiality from intake forward.
HNW divorce — frequently asked
What qualifies as a 'high-net-worth' divorce in California?
How is a closely-held business valued in divorce?
Are unvested stock options and RSUs divisible?
How do we trace separate property in commingled accounts?
How can I keep our divorce private?
Will my prenup hold up in California?
How are international assets handled?
What is a forensic lifestyle analysis?
How are trusts and estate-planning vehicles treated?
What is above-guideline spousal support?
Speak with a San Diego family law attorney today.
Every conversation is private. Most clients leave the first call with a clear sense of what to expect — what California law says, what your case is likely worth, and what to do next.