When you have worked hard and taken careful steps to build a life that allows you and your family to live comfortably, divorce can feel like a wrecking ball. That’s because New Mexico’s family law system, and most of the lawyers who operate in it, treat every divorcee like a W2 employee.
There’s an expectation that you can go in, split the financial baby (and time spent with any literal babies!), and walk away from the relationship with relative ease. But if you have complex or high-value assets, this isn’t just impractical, it’s needlessly destructive.
Couples with extensive assets need a divorce attorney who can do more than divide by two if they want to move forward with stability, dignity, and confidence. As a former family business owner whose life was completely changed by divorce, Attorney Bob Matteucci understands this better than most. Bob and the rest of the Matteucci Family Law team work with business owners, professionals, and couples with substantial or complex assets who want to protect their wealth and secure their family’s future, not fight about who gets what.
As New Mexico’s Economic Landscape Changes, Divorce Is Getting More Complicated
Anyone with their finger on the financial pulse of the Albuquerque area knows it is more erratic than it used to be. Real estate values are up, but so are interest rates and inflation. The value of investments continue to rise even as wages stagnate. And tech industry’s either ushering in a new golden era or destined to destroy everything, depending on who you ask. All of these factors influence the way we value assets, calculate income, and build post-divorce financial plans.
Real estate is booming.
New Mexico’s real estate market has been going nuts, with surging prices, low inventory, and interest rates impacting the market. In divorce, that means:
- Appraised values may surprise you (for better or worse).
- Refinancing is harder and more expensive.
- “Keeping the house” isn’t just an emotional decision, it’s a cash-flow one.
Inflation is reshaping household budgets and long-term planning.
Everything costs more, from groceries, to child care, to health insurance premiums. Spousal support and child support negotiations need to reflect these realities. What felt sufficient even two years ago may not come close to creating lasting stability today.
Investments are more complex than ever.
AI stocks are driving the market. Keeping an eye on what’s happening there and acting in your best interest may mean it makes sense to delay or speed up your divorce, use a certain method to value retirement accounts, or divide investment portfolios differently than you would have in the past.
The future is uncertain.
All of this means that a high-asset divorce isn’t something to navigate with generic advice or outdated assumptions. You need a plan grounded in real numbers and current economic conditions, which means you need an attorney like Bob Matteucci who’s as comfortable with financial markets as family law.
Don’t Let Divorce Shut Your Business Down
Whether you or your family owns a retail business, a medical practice, a restaurant group, a consulting firm, or you have a portfolio of rental properties, you must be prepared to divide the value of your business assets 50/50 at divorce.
Under New Mexico’s community property law, everything owned by a couple is presumed to be jointly owned, and is subject to equal division at divorce. This includes businesses. It doesn’t matter whose name is on the legal paperwork, who originally founded it, or who runs it on a day-to-day basis.
At this point, you’re likely wondering how you are supposed to divide up what you have built without completely destroying it. Some lawyers will tell you you can’t. And if judges had it their way, you would be forced to sell everything off and simply split the proceeds.
As someone who was inspired to go to law school after realizing divorce meant he would be the fourth and final generation to run his family’s retail shoe business, Bob Matteucci knows exactly how unpalatable these “solutions” are. He knows there are other options out there, and he is not afraid to wade deep into the financial weeds to find them.
This typically means:
- Taking an inventory of all assets
- Accurately valuing all assets
- Identifying which assets would lose value if shuttered or divided
- Reframing any division as a buy-out
- Looking for ways to shift ownership interests so one partner can keep the business while the other gets different assets
- Considering whether spousal support (aka alimony) payments could even the playing field
- Forecasting the impact various solutions would have on cash flow, debt, taxes, reputations, employees, and clients.
This isn’t the easy way to do things, but it is often the only way to do them if keeping the business going is important to you and your family’s financial security and well-being.
Stock-Based Compensation: One of the Most Overlooked Issues in High-Asset Divorce
If you or your spouse have a job in the c-suite, or work in tech, finance, sales, or any other industry that uses performance incentives, your divorce is going to have to address the value of potential future benefits earned during the marriage.
Many couples underestimate the complexity here until they see the numbers laid out. For example, a single grant of restricted stock units (RSUs) can influence support calculations, long-term retirement planning, and even the timing of the divorce itself. Getting the details right is essential.
How Child Support is Calculated when High-Asset Couples Divorce
Most New Mexico families calculate their child support payments by plugging a few numbers into a state-provided worksheet and going with whatever it spits out. This is another part of the divorce ecosystem that works well for W2 employees, but isn’t a good fit for people whose cash flow varies from year to year due to changing levels of business or investment income.
That’s why many high-asset couples opt for negotiated support agreements instead. Rather than agreeing to some state-mandated number, they calculate support based on the real cost of raising their actual child. This allows them to take things like private school tuition, travel, extracurriculars, medical and dental care, health insurance, college savings, and lifestyle continuity into account.
New Mexico family court judges typically approve these “off-guideline” support agreements as long as they seem reasonable. And reasonable here means reasonable for your family, especially since the state did away with caps on child support payments.
As your attorney, Bob Matteucci can help ensure support arrangements align with your values and financial reality, offering stability and fairness without unnecessary rigidity.
Spousal Support Payments in High-Asset Divorces
In a high-asset divorce, spousal support payments (often called alimony) often serve as a bargaining chip. Instead of dividing a company or selling real property, parties might agree to use support payments to:
- offset the value of a business or other difficult-to-divide assets;
- use a lump-sum payment to ensure the marital estate is split 50/50; or
- structure support in a way that accounts for unpredictable future income that is tied to work done or investments made during the marriage.
There is no set formula for calculating spousal support payments, so this is an area where high-net-worth couples have a great deal of flexibility to negotiate.
Privacy: A Core Concern in High-Asset Divorce
Whether you are concerned about your reputation, your family’s safety, or your business’s future, keeping your personal information out of public view is important.
While it is impossible to hide the fact that you are getting divorced thanks to New Mexico’s open court records, there are steps Attorney Matteucci can help you take to protect your privacy:
- Unless you choose to litigate, the nitty-gritty details of your divorce settlement will not need to be aired in open court.
- Agreements reached between you and your soon-to-be-former spouse can include confidentiality clauses.
- Under very limited circumstances, court filings can be made under seal.
Keeping information about your relationship status and family affairs as quiet as possible can provide some comfort as you navigate this difficult time in your life.
Serving Families with Dignity & Compassion
If you’re considering divorce, or are already certain it’s the right move, your next step should be contacting a seasoned family law attorney like Bob Matteucci who appreciates the concerns you have for your family and your finances. These two subjects are intertwined, but Bob knows how to untangle them in a way that allows you to minimize conflict, protect your privacy, and build a stable foundation for whatever comes next. Please contact him to set up a meeting and discuss your case.