Support

Acted as a court-appointed Settlement Officer in a complex, high asset divorce case. The primary impediment to settlement was permanent spousal support following a long-term (18-year) marriage. After three hours of settlement discussions, significant progress was made but the case was not settled. The parties and their attorneys agreed to retain the settlement officer privately as a mediator. An agreement was reached for a buyout of spousal support, and the entire case was settled at the first mediation session.

Post-judgment spousal support modification proceeding involving a high-income husband employed as chief executive officer of a publicly traded company. The case centered on the husband’s income and asset valuation, including the liquidity and marketability of significant stock holdings, as well as his claims that his wife was intentionally underemployed. The husband claimed that, although he owned the majority of the shares in his company, he was precluded from selling those shares and therefore had a low net worth. The matter proceeded to a multi-week trial with extensive expert testimony from forensic accountants and Securities and Exchange Commission experts.

Post-judgment family law matter that came back to the Superior Court on remand following a published appellate decision, which addressed the treatment of recurring financial gifts from family members in evaluating income available for support. The issue on remand involved Husband’s request to modify support. Husband had entered into an agreement to pay support and expenses for Wife and the children based on the belief that he was going to inherit a large sum of money and assets, including a lucrative business. The inheritance did not materialize, and Husband did not have the ability to pay. The issue was whether the terms requiring payment under the Marital Settlement Agreement were non-modifiable spousal support/property division vs. modifiable child support. Ultimately, the case settled on the eve of trial.

High-asset marital dissolution matter involving complex allegations of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, including claims that one party concealed income and assets both domestically and internationally through multiple entities, layered financial structures, and separate sets of business records. The case required extensive discovery, including forensic accounting and asset tracing, to analyze discrepancies between reported income and underlying financial activity, with expert testimony addressing business revenues, cash flow, and valuation. Following a multi-day trial that included detailed testimony from forensic accountants, the court appointed a receiver to assume control of certain business operations during the proceedings.

Marital dissolution matter involving a long-term marriage in which the primary issue was permanent spousal support. The wife had been a stay-at-home mom and was working part-time after separation. The court issued temporary guideline support based on the husband’s salary and wife’s part-time salary. A vocational assessment was conducted regarding the supported spouse’s ability to obtain full-time employment consistent with training and experience. After consideration of the evidence, including vocational findings and financial information, the court issued a permanent spousal support order that differed from guideline calculations based on imputed income findings.