Dallas High-Net-Worth Divorce Lawyer

By Jill Coil, Founder and Family Law Attorney, State Bar of Texas

Quick answer: A high-net-worth divorce in Texas turns on three things: correctly characterizing what is community and what is separate property, valuing assets that do not have a market price, and keeping the details out of the public record. Texas divides community property in a manner the court finds just and right, which is not necessarily equal, and the 60-day waiting period applies no matter the size of the estate. CoilLaw handles complex-asset divorce from our Dallas office in the Crescent.

When a marriage involves a business, equity compensation, multiple properties, or a family trust, the ordinary divorce playbook stops being adequate. A Dallas high-net-worth divorce lawyer spends most of the case on questions that never arise in a simple filing: what a closely held company is actually worth, whether an account has been commingled past the point of tracing, and how much of an executive’s compensation is community property. CoilLaw represents clients across the Metroplex in exactly these cases, under the Texas Family Code. For general divorce information, see our Dallas divorce lawyer page.

What Makes a Divorce “High-Net-Worth”

It is not really a dollar threshold. It is complexity. A couple with a large salary and a paid-off house may have a simpler division than a couple with a modest income and a fifteen-year-old business. The cases that need this kind of representation usually involve at least one of the following:

• A closely held business, professional practice, or partnership interest
• Executive compensation: restricted stock units, options, deferred comp, carried interest
• Multiple real properties, including investment or out-of-state holdings
• Trusts, inherited assets, or gifts that have been mixed with marital funds
• Retirement and brokerage accounts large enough that the division method changes the tax outcome
• A spouse who controls the financial information and the other who does not

The Three Questions That Decide These Cases

1. Characterization: community or separate?

Texas presumes that everything either spouse holds at divorce is community property. Overcoming that presumption requires clear and convincing evidence, which in practice means documents. An inheritance kept in its own account stays separate. The same inheritance deposited into the joint account that pays the mortgage may not, and reconstructing it years later is a forensic accounting exercise, not a conversation.

2. Valuation: what is it actually worth?

A brokerage account values itself. A business does not. Valuing a company means examining earnings, assets, comparable transactions, and the degree to which its value depends on the owner personally. A recurring fight in owner-operated businesses is how much of the profit is really the owner’s salary, because that single figure moves both the value of the business and the support calculation.

3. Division: what is just and right?

Texas does not require an equal split of community property. Courts divide it in whatever way they find just and right, and they may consider factors including each spouse’s earning capacity, education, health, fault in the breakup, and who has primary care of the children. In a large estate, a modest percentage shift is a great deal of money, so the argument for a disproportionate division is worth making carefully.

Protecting Your Privacy

Court filings are public records. In a case involving a recognizable business or a public-facing career, that is a real exposure, and it is one of the strongest arguments for resolving a high-asset divorce through mediation or a collaborative process rather than a contested trial. Where litigation is unavoidable, protective orders can restrict how sensitive financial material is handled and who may see it. We raise privacy at the beginning of the case, not after something has already been filed.

How We Handle Complex-Asset Cases

• Discovery built for financial cases. Complete document production, subpoenas to third parties where necessary, and depositions of the people who actually know where the money is.
• Expert work. Business valuators, forensic accountants, and tax professionals brought in early enough to shape strategy rather than react to it.
• Tracing. Reconstructing the history of separate-property claims through account records, so the claim survives challenge.
• Tax-aware division. Two settlements with identical headline numbers can leave you in very different positions after tax. We model the after-tax result.
• Retirement division. Qualified domestic relations orders drafted correctly the first time, because a defective QDRO is discovered years later when it is expensive to fix.
• Spousal maintenance. Texas limits court-ordered maintenance sharply, but contractual alimony negotiated in a settlement is not subject to the same caps.

Where We Serve

We handle high-asset divorce across the Metroplex, including Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow, Southlake, Westlake, and Colleyville.

County pages: Dallas · Tarrant · Collin · Denton · Rockwall

Clients in the Houston area can see our Houston high-net-worth divorce practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my spouse’s business community property?

If it was founded during the marriage, generally yes. If it existed before the marriage, the business itself may be separate property while the increase in its value during the marriage, and any community funds or labor invested in it, can give rise to a community claim for reimbursement.

How are restricted stock units and options divided in Texas?

By reference to when they were granted and when they vest. Awards earned through work performed during the marriage are generally community property, while portions attributable to work before marriage or after divorce may be separate. Texas courts apply several accepted formulas, and which applies can change the number substantially.

What if I inherited money and put it in our joint account?

You can still claim it as separate property, but you carry the burden of tracing it with clear and convincing evidence. Whether that succeeds depends almost entirely on the quality of your account records. This is one of the most common and most expensive disputes in high-asset divorce.

Can my spouse hide assets?

People try. Discovery tools exist to find them: sworn inventories, document production, third-party subpoenas, depositions, and forensic accountants who look for the gap between reported income and actual lifestyle. Courts take concealment seriously when it is proven, and it can affect the property division itself.

Will we have to go to trial?

Usually not. Most high-asset cases settle, frequently in mediation, which is both cheaper and far more private than a contested trial. We prepare every case as though it will be tried, because that preparation is what makes a favorable settlement possible.

Does a prenuptial agreement settle everything?

A valid Texas premarital agreement can control characterization and division, and courts generally enforce them. They can be challenged, most often on grounds of involuntary signing or inadequate disclosure of assets at the time of signing. We evaluate enforceability early, because the answer reshapes the entire case.

How much does a high-net-worth divorce cost?

More than a simple divorce, driven mainly by expert fees and the volume of discovery. We are direct about this in the first meeting, and we work to keep spending proportionate to what is genuinely in dispute rather than litigating every issue on principle.

Talk to a Dallas High-Net-Worth Divorce Lawyer

Call 469-552-5992 or request a consultation online. CoilLaw, 100 Crescent Court, Suite 0429, Dallas, TX 75201.

This page is for general information and is not legal advice. Every case is different. For advice about your specific situation, speak with a licensed Texas attorney.