On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Property Division on Thursday, June 5, 2014.
We’ll concede at the outset of today’s blog post that most people — OK, virtually all people — will likely have a problem identifying with the story of Dmitry Rybolovlev’s divorce.
The reason: A court in Switzerland recently ordered the Russian businessman to hand over more than $4.5 billion — yes, you read that correctly — in cash to his former wife Elena as partial settlement of their unquestionably high-asset divorce.
And that is not all. The divorce settlement also mandated the turning over of multiple pieces of extremely high-priced real estate to Elena.
Readers in Illinois and elsewhere who think that the settlement must be near or flatly be the all-time highest payout in a dissolution proceeding are correct: Reportedly, no divorce settlement in history has exceeded what Rybolovlev is being tasked to pay.
The couple’s divorce is obviously “different,” but that does not mean that is altogether exceptional. A number of considerations that feature in the settlement are also common in other divorces where high-asset property division is a central concern.
As noted in a recent media article, the Rybolovlev’s had multiple “swanky chalets.” Many divorcing couples devoid of chalets nonetheless have high-priced properties and assets of various types that must be identified, valued and equitably distributed through settlement.
Reportedly, further appeals may feature in the Rybolovlev divorce, with a central focus likely to be on various trusts established by the business tycoon. Tracking money is also a core focus in many other high-asset divorces, even if the amounts at issue fall somewhat short of billions of dollars.
The point to be made by reference to the Rybolovlev divorce is this: Although the core points of focus in the divorce settlement are admittedly off the charts in terms of dollar figures, they are still similar in content to what many people are focused upon in their divorces.
An experienced Illinois family law attorney with acumen in property division matters can answer questions and provide diligent representation in a high-asset divorce matter.
Source: Huffington Post, “Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev’s $4.5 billion divorce could be the most expensive in history,” John Heilprin, May 19, 2014
