I have tried, in these articles, to maintain an even keel. To dispense information which I believe that you, as an attorney, will find useful for your clientele.

Imagine this divorce case: You’re representing an affluent woman. Her soon-to-be-ex husband has an asset that he’s emotionally attached to. It could be his car collection. His business. Artwork. Jewelry. And he’s made it clear that he won’t let go. It’s an “over-my-dead-body” moment.

There’s what’s called “community waste.” And then there’s just “bad business.” What’s the difference?

What are “hard-to-value assets”? Do you have any? Does this affect your divorce? Let’s discuss.

Talk about an unwritten rule. I’ve had more than one attorney tell me that spousal maintenance awards in Arizona effectively top out at about $120k a year, or $10k a month. Regardless of the woman’s financial status, pre-divorce.

In many cases, even if the wife doesn’t work in the business itself, she still collects a salary from it; this way, she has an income that can go toward a 401(k) retirement plan. So at the end of the year, the husband’s business funds the wife’s 401(k), typically with a matching contribution.

If you’re new to the prospect of divorce—and I hope you are, inasmuch as this hopefully isn’t your second or third go-around—you may be surprised to learn that spousal maintenance, a.k.a. “alimony payments,” do not last forever.

Brace yourself. If you’re new to divorce—and most likely you are, since you’re reading this—this will be a jaw-dropper for you. But it’s also a case of knowledge-is-power if I’ve ever seen one.

In a lot of cases which I—and you—work, the husband is a business owner. The wife, financially, is the out-spouse/not the main earner.