Custody battles in high net worth divorces can be especially protracted and bitter. Partly this is because money does not necessarily bring out the finest qualities in everyone, whereas divorce can bring out the least desirable qualities in almost anyone. However, it is also because parenting plans in high asset divorces can in many cases genuinely encompass complexities that are rarely seen in other family law cases. Custody disputes wealthy families deal with tend to include a greater variety of complicating factors such as private school enrollments and extensive scheduling. Turn to a Virginia custody lawyer high income parents in the Fairfax area have relied on time and again. Call DiPietro Law Group at (866) 607-3461 to schedule a private consultation.
Why Custody Battles Are More Complex In High Net Worth Divorces
Custody determinations can be a challenging aspect of any divorce with children. In Virginia, as in other states, child support determinations are intended partly to address the potential disparities in parental resources after a divorce by ensuring that the non-custodial parent continues to contribute fairly to the child’s financial well-being. The custody disputes wealthy families experience can quickly add complexity, because combining luxury lifestyle and custody battles often introduces a disparity between the advantages available to a child during the time he or she spends with one parent vs. when the child is in the other parent’s home.
Financial Advantages and Child Custody
In terms of parental rights, Virginia law prohibits courts from making any presumption in favor of either parent when considering how to award child custody. However, Code of Virginia § 20-124.2(B) not only outlines this prohibition, but also establishes that the “best interest of the child” standard must take precedence in all child custody decisions. When one parent is plainly positioned to provide his or her child with significantly greater opportunities for education and enrichment than the other, a judge assessing the best interests of the child Virginia law requires may hesitate to include in the court order any provisions that would make it difficult from the child to benefit from the financial advantages either parent can offer.
Parenting Plans in High Net Worth Divorce
Custody orders often include not just the total amount of time the child spends under each parent’s roof, but also limitations on, and agreements for the payment of, childcare services. They may also include stipulations regarding whether and under what circumstances one parent is required to get the other’s approval to take the child on extended trips, especially if the trips involve travel out of the country or will overlap with time during which the parent not planning for travel would ordinarily have the child in residence. Sometimes, divorcing spouses are able to set their personal differences aside in order to develop parenting plans that prioritize the best interests of their children. When spouses are unable to resolve their own custody battles in high net worth divorces, judges in Virginia’s Circuit Courts may be reluctant to make their own determinations that stand to significantly restrict a child’s ability to benefit from one parent’s wealth.
Understanding Virginia’s Custody Standards in High Asset Cases
Child custody high net worth divorce decisions can be complicated by a variety of factors, but the same basic rules will apply to the parenting plans in high asset divorces cases that govern any other child custody determinations in Virginia. The central tenet, across all Virginia child custody cases, is to always put the best interest of the child foremost. Accordingly, the focus of the judge seeking to resolve a custody dispute in a complex divorce with children will usually be to determine the arrangement that will give the child the greatest emotional and psychological, as well as material, support. Parental preferences are at most a secondary consideration, although Virginia § 20-124.4(A) exhorts courts to preserve the “dignity and resources” of all family members to the extent possible while prioritizing the child’s best interest.
A Virginia custody lawyer high income divorce clients seek out is often one who has a history of achieving favorable outcomes regarding custody and assets in Virginia divorces. When it comes to child custody decisions, however, it is important to understand that an outcome that is “favorable” may not always align exactly with either parent’s preference. Particularly when there is a likelihood of significant disparity between household incomes after the divorce, it is critical to understand that substantial wealth, by itself, does not necessarily mean that it will be in a child’s best interest to spend additional time with the higher-earning parent. This can be especially true when the source of a parent’s wealth is a job that demands long hours away from home and unavailable for quality time, developing the parent-child relationship. Keeping the goal of achieving your child’s best interest centered in your approach can help you to avoid many of the most common pitfalls associated with proposed parenting plans in high asset divorce.
Luxury Lifestyles and Parenting Time: Finding Balance Post-Divorce
Somewhat counterintuitively, the intersection between a luxury lifestyle and parenting time can be difficult to navigate. Particularly when one parent is less able than the other to offer advantages such as extended multi-national travel and private school enrollment, a parenting plan and custody order may be shaped by the parents’ desire to ensure the best for their child, and the court’s mandate to prioritize the child’s best interest.
Considerations for Extensive or International Travel
As an example of the difficulty affluent couples – and Virginia’s courts – may face in balancing wealth and parental rights: A common provision in many custody orders is that either parent must get the other’s approval before taking their shared child out of the country. In most families, international travel is a relatively uncommon occurrence and therefore not a topic that needs to be addressed frequently. Following a divorce for affluent parents in Virginia, however, overseas travel may be a regular event in one parent’s household, while seldom if ever becoming a factor during the other parent’s residential schedule. A family law attorney with DiPietro Law Group may be able to help you develop a practical proposal for balancing wealth and parental rights in a way that ensures your child has a chance to build healthy relationships with both parents.
Maintaining Consistency for the Child
For this and other reasons, maintaining consistency between vastly different homes can often be a significant challenge. While in the childcare arrangements made following a high net worth divorce Virginia parents are not required to attempt, much less to achieve, two separate households that are managed in exactly the same way, truly stark disparities can be unsettling, especially for very young children.
Parents with significantly different incomes will often live in very different neighborhoods, even when they are residents of the same city, so the child’s commuting time – especially if they are enrolled in a private school in a higher-income area – can further complicate matters. You may wish to consider speaking with a child custody lawyer high income parents in your area have worked with before to get an idea of some of the challenges ahead and how you may be able to address them.
When Business Interests and Custody Collide
Just as Virginia courts may be reluctant to grant custody orders that seem likely to curtail a child’s ability to benefit from a high-income parent’s wealth, they may also hesitate to assign parenting time (also called a child’s residential schedule) to a parent the judge presiding over the case suspects may not actually be available to spend that time with the child on a consistent basis. While parents of any income level may sometimes work grueling schedules with long hours, business owners and individuals in some high-earning employee roles are disproportionately likely to work in jobs that require a great deal of long-distance travel, often on short notice.
A common concern regarding business owners and custody rights – even sometimes in cases where neither parent is eager to limit the other’s time with their shared children – is that the business owner’s ability to exercise his or her custody rights, especially for physical custody (having the child in residence), may be significantly limited by precisely the same activities that enable this parent to continue providing their child with a high standard of living. If you have concerns about how child custody may be handled in a divorce for affluent parents in Virginia where one of the spouses maintains a demanding schedule for business, consider speaking with a Virginia custody lawyer high net worth parents in the Fairfax area turn to for advice and perspective.
The Role of a High Net Worth Divorce Attorney in Custody Disputes
Custody battles in high net worth divorces can easily present challenges. While divorcing parents tend to focus on balancing wealth and parental rights as they divide both custody and assets in Virginia divorces, the judge overseeing a Virginia family law case will apply the best interest of the child standard Virginia law requires in making any custody determination. Because parenting plans in high asset divorce cases can have substantial impacts on child support obligations as well as on the time each parent gets to spend with their shared child or children, the custody decisions in a divorce for affluent parents in Virginia can have substantial impacts on each household’s finances after divorce, as well as on the development of parent-child relationships over time. Consider speaking with an experienced Fairfax divorce lawyer experienced in child custody high net worth divorce matters. Call DiPietro Law Group today at (866) 607-3461 to schedule a consultation.
