We believe that successful outcomes depend on big-picture thinking, thoughtful advice and expert court advocacy when necessary.
The following case studies are real life examples showing how we have guided our clients through family law challenges.
Divorce is not always a zero-sum game.
The Case
A couple going through a divorce retained Ford Family Law as a mediator. The couple could not agree on which spouse would get to keep the very profitable, very successful marital business. That meta-issue then spawned two other disputes: how much the spouse who kept the business would have to pay to the other spouse to buy them out of the business and how to deal with the spousal support that the spouse who got the business would have to pay to the other spouse because of all the income being generated by the successful business.These three issues had stymied this couple for almost a year as they battled in costly litigation.
Ford Family Law's Analysis
As a mediator, Ford Family Law found a solution that would benefit both spouses — they could both co-own the business going forward. But, whether that solution would work depended on Ford Family Law engaging each of the spouses in an intense and honest dialogue about the financial and tax benefits of co-ownership, whether the spouses had sufficient remaining trust and effect of being co-owners together, and what each spouse got from owning the business (money, health insurance, ego, tax benefits, wanting to leave a legacy business for their children, or some combination).
Ford Family Law's Solution
When it became clear to Ford Family Law that the spouses had compatible views about this business, Ford Family Law urged the couple to consider co-owning the business following their divorce. To help the spouses understand what that solution would entail, Ford Family Law assembled a team of estate planning lawyers, corporate attorneys, and tax planning professionals to create a comprehensive post-divorce business ownership and operation strategy. Ford Family Law also worked with the couple to reach an agreement on the future rights of their children — specifically, Ford Family Law devised a plan that protected the parties’ children so that either spouse’s re-marriage would not impact their agreed-upon future interests of their existing children.
Think creatively and be flexible.
The Case
A client who was close to retirement came to Ford Family Law. He wanted a divorce from his long-time wife. Our client had a valuable pension that, upon his retirement, would produce a substantial monthly pension payment. In addition, given the length of the marriage, both parties had a sentimental attachment to various assets that made compromises difficult.
Ford Family Law's Analysis
During our review of our client’s pension plan, Ford Family Law discovered that a divorce would terminate the wife’s joint survivor annuity rights — meaning the wife’s right to continue receiving monthly benefits under the pension following the husband’s death. Thus, by our client proceeding with the divorce, he was causing his spouse to lose the financial stability from the pension and the health insurance benefit the pension provided. This fundamental incompatibility between our client’s goal (to be legally untangled from the relationship) and his spouse’s goal (future financial security) was fueling the litigation.
Ford Family Law's Solution
Ford Family Law looked for an alternate solution that would satisfy the needs of both husband and wife better than a straightforward divorce. Eventually, Ford Family Law devised a creative, alternate strategy that produced an outcome better than a traditional divorce – for both parties. Our strategy recommended that our client file for legal separation rather than divorce. This would allow our client to end his legal entanglements with his spouse (his #1 goal) while at the same time allowing his spouse to keep the financial security that the pension provided her (her #1 goal). With the spouse’s financial anxieties surrounding the divorce lessened the spouse suddenly became more accommodating to our client on the division of community assets. Our client eventually got everything he wanted and more by having creative, solution-focused lawyers and staying flexible and open-minded.
Make business decisions, not emotional ones.
The Case
Ford Family Law’s client, the husband of a couple going through a divorce, was emotionally tied to his wife’s successful business. Our client felt he contributed a lot to his wife’s professional success by encouraging her to start her business and helping her write her business plan. As his wife’s business took off and his wife became nationally prominent, our client gave up his own career to help support his wife’s career. Now that our client and his wife are seeking a divorce, our client wanted to maintain an interest in his wife’s business going forward. Our client was convinced that his wife’s business would continue to be wildly successful, so he wanted to keep his interest in his wife’s business after the divorce. He did not want to be bought out by his wife.
Ford Family Law's Analysis
Ford Family Law assembled an expert team – including a CPA, a corporate lawyer, and a business valuation expert — and performed an exhaustive analysis of the wife and her business. Ford Family Law’s analysis showed that, although the wife’s business looked good on paper, it was a high-risk business in a volatile industry. Ford Family Law’s analysis also uncovered significant business liabilities as well as concerns about future lawsuits and tax liabilities.
Ford Family Law's Solution
Following the results of our financial analysis, we urged our client to get out of his wife’s business. This required high-touch, personal counseling, given the husband’s emotional connection to the business. Ultimately, however, we convinced our client to allow his wife to buy him out. So, our client received a large payout representing 50% of this very successful marital business at its then-inflated value (because the wife’s team did not see the same liabilities and risks that Ford Family Law’s team uncovered).
Following the divorce, the wife struggled to operate her business. Losses and lawsuits mounted, precisely as Ford Family Law’s analysis concluded, and the wife closed her business. As a result of Ford Family Law’s sophisticated representation – including our ability to counsel clients through very hard, emotional decisions — our client ended up with a large cash payout and marital real estate. These are very real and very valuable assets that our client still has. Meanwhile, the wife’s business, which she insisted on owning 100%, no longer exists.
Pay attention... details matter.
The Case
A client came to Ford Family Law seeking a divorce. His spouse was being secretive and dishonest and, on top of that, making unreasonable demands. This made settlement impossible, so our client was forced to litigate to ensure that he was treated fairly. During the litigation, our client’s spouse continued her strategy of being secretive and dishonest. She often conveniently “forgot” about key assets and claimed not to know facts even though her name was on emails and her signature appeared on documents. It became clear to Ford Family Law that our client’s spouse was not telling the truth.
Ford Family Law's Analysis
In order to protect our client and defend against the lies being told by the spouse, Ford Family Law’s lawyers, and paralegals performed an exhaustive analysis — reviewing box after box of disorganized marital bank statements, tax returns, brokerage account statements, retirement account statements, business records, loan applications, and other financial documents. Based on this painstaking work, Ford Family Law’s lawyers began drafting a report to the Court of all of the spouse’s inconsistencies and contradictions during the litigation.
Ford Family Law's Solution
The Court ordered the parties to a Mandatory Settlement Conference (MSC). The night before that conference, our client’s spouse dumped more boxes of documents on our client. Late into the evening on the night before the MSC, Ford Family Law’s lawyers and paralegals reviewed complex financial records line-by-line to double – and triple-check all of the spouse’s claims.
Ford Family Law’s late-night work yielded still more dishonesty by the spouse – Ford Family Law discovered a $300,000 IRA account that the spouse had not disclosed to the Court. This meant that there was an additional $300,000 of community property, which in turn meant that our client was owed an additional $150,000.
During the MSC, as Ford Family Law’s lawyers presented to the Court all of the evidence Ford Family Law had uncovered about the spouse’s lies and inconsistencies, it became clear that the spouse had no credibility with the Court. Now, the Court was indicating that it, too, did not believe the spouse’s testimony. The case settled quickly thereafter on terms that were very favorable for our client.
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