Are you looking for a high asset divorce lawyer in Mountain View, CA?

At Schank Family Law, we schedule consultations with a Mountain View high asset divorce lawyer trusted by clients since 2003.

If one spouse in a Mountain View divorce controls a business or manages the investment accounts, California law requires that spouse to disclose every asset and debt and to account for community funds used after separation. Those duties apply regardless of whose name appears on the account. Our Mountain View, CA high asset divorce lawyer handles estates that include operating companies, professional practices, executive compensation, and real estate holdings. Schank Family Law has worked in family law across California for over two decades. Contact our office to begin a confidential review of your estate.

High Asset Divorce Lawyer Mountain View, CA

Why do high asset divorces require more work than standard dissolutions? The legal rules are the same, but the financial record is larger and harder to verify. A high asset divorce attorney gathers and tests that record, identifies which assets are community or separate, and presents the valuation and support evidence a judge needs to divide the estate and set support.

Per capita income in Mountain View reached $112,591, according to Census QuickFacts figures. Income at that level often comes from several sources at once, such as salary, bonuses, equity, business distributions, and investment returns. A Mountain View high asset divorce lawyer traces each source so the court sees the full picture of what the marriage earned and acquired.

Types of High Asset Divorce Cases We Handle in Mountain View

The assets involved determine how a high asset case is prepared. We represent Mountain View spouses in the following matters, whether they run the business or need its value proven.

• Divorce. Every high asset case moves through the ordinary stages of a dissolution, from petition to judgment. We manage those stages while the financial investigation proceeds alongside them.
• Closely held businesses. A company formed or expanded during the marriage usually carries a community interest. We work with business appraisers to separate the growth produced by either spouse’s work during the marriage from any separate capital invested at the start.
• Professional practices. Medical, dental, legal, engineering, and consulting practices often hold goodwill that belongs partly to the community. We address how that goodwill is measured and whether the practicing spouse keeps the practice with an offsetting payment.
• Executive compensation. Senior employees may receive bonuses, deferred compensation, retention awards, and stock grants on different schedules. We identify each component and determine how much was earned during the marriage.
• Property division. Primary residences, rental portfolios, and brokerage accounts are divided according to their community share. We obtain appraisals and account histories to support each figure.
• Alimony. The paying spouse’s earning capacity and the lifestyle the couple maintained during the marriage drive high-income support. We document both through spending records and compensation history.
• High-earner child support. The statewide guideline still applies at high incomes, along with add-ons such as private school tuition and extracurricular costs. We present income evidence and the children’s actual needs.
• Forensic tracing. When separate and community funds have been mixed for years, we reconstruct the flow of money through bank, brokerage, and business records.
• Dissipation and concealment. Transfers to relatives, unexplained loans, and deferred bonuses can reduce the visible estate. We use subpoenas and depositions to recover what was moved or delayed.
• Cryptocurrency and private investments. Digital assets, angel investments, and interests in private funds require their own discovery and valuation. We identify these holdings and pursue the records that establish their value.

Why Choose Schank Family Law as my High Asset Divorce Lawyer in Mountain View, CA?

Forensic Review of Business and Investment Records

High asset cases are decided on documents. Our approach to the financial record includes:

• Comparing business tax returns, general ledgers, and bank statements to find income that does not appear in the reported figures
• Reviewing personal expenses paid through a business to establish the marital standard of living
• Tracing separate property claims through years of account activity before accepting or contesting them
• Using subpoenas and depositions when voluntary disclosure is incomplete
• Coordinating with forensic accountants and business appraisers so their findings are presented clearly in court

The goal is a financial record that holds up under cross-examination, whether the case settles or goes to trial. When the other spouse’s figures rest on selective documents, the complete record usually shows where the gaps are.

The Founder’s Background

Christian Schank has been practicing law in California since 2003, and his work in law firm management started in 1998. Martindale-Hubbell assigned him its AV rating in 2000. Lead Counsel’s family law verification followed in 2015. His education includes undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University and graduation from the University of La Verne College of Law. Spouses in complex estates frequently need custody and support orders as well, and those are handled by the same firm acting as your family lawyer in Mountain View, CA.

Understanding High Asset Divorce Cases

What Is The High Asset Divorce Case Timeline?

A high asset divorce follows the standard sequence, but the discovery and valuation stages usually take longer. Most cases move through these steps:

1. One spouse files the petition and has it served, which begins the six-month minimum before the dissolution can be finalized.
2. Both spouses exchange preliminary disclosures of their income, property, and obligations.
3. Temporary support and use of property are set while the case proceeds.
4. Formal discovery, business appraisals, and forensic accounting are completed, often over several months.
5. The spouses settle, or the court decides contested valuations at trial and enters judgment.

Temporary orders set early in the case can shape settlement discussions, so the income evidence presented at that first hearing deserves the same care as the evidence presented at trial. A settlement that divides a business or a practice typically needs careful drafting, and we work all angles of the terms before anything is signed.

What Are Important Aspects of a High Asset Divorce Case?

Several issues come up repeatedly in Mountain View estates of this size.

• Goodwill. The value of a practice or company can depend heavily on its reputation and client relationships. Whether that goodwill belongs to the business or to the individual affects how much of it is divided.
• Cash flow versus reported income. Business owners often have discretion over salary, distributions, and expenses. Support calculations should reflect the cash actually available, not only the salary on a W-2.
• Post-separation accounting. When one spouse pays community debts or uses community property after separation, the court can order reimbursement or credits between the spouses.
• Discovery compliance. A spouse who ignores discovery orders can face sanctions, and repeated violations may lead to contempt of court.
• Electronic records. Emails, texts, and financial apps can reveal accounts and transfers, and digital evidence is increasingly part of these cases.

Community Property, Reimbursement, and Fiduciary Duties in High Asset Cases

California’s approach to a high asset estate starts with classification. Property acquired during marriage is community property and is generally divided equally, while property owned before marriage or acquired by gift or inheritance remains separate. The challenge in larger estates is that separate and community interests are often combined in the same business or account, and the court must apportion them. The broader framework of California divorce laws applies in the same way to every estate, regardless of size.

Spouses also owe each other fiduciary duties until the property is divided. That obligation carries several practical consequences:

• Each spouse must give the other complete and accurate financial disclosures
• Neither spouse may conceal or transfer community assets without the other’s knowledge
• A spouse who manages a business must account for its income and value
• The court can award remedies when these duties are breached

Guidance from an attorney on dividing a business will explain how courts approach a company that one spouse built during the marriage.

What Should You Bring to Your High Asset Divorce Consultation?

The first meeting is most useful when we can see the structure of the estate. Bring whatever you have access to, including:

• Personal tax returns covering at least three recent years, plus business returns for any entity either spouse owns
• Compensation statements showing salary, bonuses, deferred pay, and stock awards
• Operating agreements, shareholder agreements, and business financial statements
• Statements for brokerage, retirement, and cryptocurrency accounts
• Deeds, loan documents, and appraisals for real estate

We will outline which assets require independent valuation, which records are missing, and how discovery would proceed if the other spouse does not produce them voluntarily. You will leave the meeting with a clear picture of the work your estate requires.

Mountain View Family Court and Local Resources

Mountain View residents file high asset divorces in the county’s Superior Court, and contested hearings take place before its family judges in San Jose. Parties and counsel can track filings and hearing dates through the court’s case information portal, subject to confidentiality restrictions on certain records.

Public records can also support a financial investigation. The California Secretary of State’s business records service lists entity status, officers, managers, and filing history for California companies. For executives of publicly traded employers, the SEC explains how proxy statements disclose pay in its guide to researching EDGAR filings. The California Courts also describe the required disclosure forms each spouse must serve. Searching these records before discovery begins can help identify entities, officers, and compensation that belong in the disclosures. None of these agencies has any affiliation with our firm.

Reach Out to Schank Family Law to Schedule a Consultation

The sooner a high asset estate is documented, the sooner valuation and discovery can begin. Contact us with a brief summary of the assets involved. Our intake specialist will review it as part of a free case evaluation and tell you whether the matter should move to an attorney consultation. We respond to new inquiries without delay.