Fort Myers Florida Family Law Legal Blog

Not every marriage is meant to last, and some couples in Florida who married in their younger years end up getting divorced decades later. Sometimes, after the divorce is final, a person will find love again and decide to remarry. By this point, however, that person may have accumulated a significant amount of valuable assets and wealth. If this is the case, they may want to consider executing a prenuptial agreement (referred to as a premarital agreement under Florida law), to avoid the difficulties that could be encountered in a high net worth divorce.

When a person is entering their second marriage, they will want to consider how they will support themselves financially while married. A prenup can address what income and retirement assets will be retained as separate property and what income and retirement assets will be considered marital property. The prenup can also address who will be responsible for what costs when it comes to household expenses.

Couples in Florida may spend years or even decades accumulating various assets, such as a house, automobiles, electronics, artwork and other valuable pieces of property. So, should the couple divorce, the issue of property division can be a sticking point for many spouses who believe they are entitled to certain assets. If a settlement cannot be reached regarding property division, the parties will turn to the court to issue a decision.

When it comes to property division, Florida is an equitable distribution state. This means that the judge will issue a decision regarding property division based on what is fair, and it may not always result in an even 50/50 split of assets and liabilities. Specifically, Florida statutes state that the court will begin with the premise that assets and liabilities should be split equally unless there is a justifiable reason not to do so based on all relevant factors.

Most divorce attorneys will agree that you can't go wrong by mediating a divorce. Even if the mediation fails, at least you've given it a shot and, by doing so, had a chance at the many benefits that mediation can bring -- like saving money, time, stress and preserving your and your future ex's good relationship in the future.

All that being said, however, a wise attorney will admit that some situations do not bode well for the mediation process. Most of these involve the mindset of you and your spouse. One spanner in the gearbox of your mediation process -- regardless of who it happens to be -- can make it an exercise in futility.

Last week we talked about some of the issues that come up when a divorcing couple needs to divide assets held in the form of artwork. This week we learned about a very affluent couple who is encountering this very issue in their divorce after nearly 60 years of marriage. What happened when they had to divide assets amounting to over half a billion dollars?

Harry Macklowe and his wife Linda Macklowe have been locked in an acrimonious divorce for the past two years. One of the issues in the property division process is the couple's large trove of important and valuable artworks, valued between $625 million and $788 million. The couple's total assets have been estimated to be worth $2 billion. Included in the artworks are pieces by Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Willem de Kooning.