Appeal in high asset divorce stays ruling to sell art collection

On Behalf of | Apr 17, 2019 | High-Asset Divorce |

With the number of people who are wealthy in New York, a high asset divorce is a common occurrence. Some are more amicable than others, but there will inevitably be issues regarding property interests as the case moves forward. While many disagreements stem over assets that are more easily valued, high-end collectibles can also be the source of rancor. When it is a couple who collected expensive artwork, the splitting of these assets and how the courts will address it can be complex. Having legal advice from a law firm that handles high asset cases is advisable.

An ongoing divorce between a real estate developer and his wife is still in dispute despite being finalized and the husband remarrying. The latest centers around artwork that is believed to have a value of approximately $700 million. The former wife was ordered to sell the collection as a term of the divorce settlement. However, the couple could not come to an agreement as to what the asking price should be. The appellate court granted the wife’s motion that there be a stay.

In addition, the husband had asked there be a bond of a minimum of a quarter of a million dollars with the stay and that the wife’s last brief on the matter be filed in 30 days. These requests were denied and she will have until the first week in July for the filing of the appeal brief. Her requested stay was due to errors in the divorce court case and that there was a good chance of them being overturned. The sale of the artwork was asserted to cause her irreparable harm.

When a couple of significant means gets a divorce, it is often in the news as to what they are fighting over. Regardless of how they accrued their wealth, these situations are often complicated by the division of property interests. Most cases center around retirement accounts, stocks, real estate, bank accounts and other tangible items. Artwork and collectibles also have immense value and can be a problematic issue. Having legal assistance in determining the value and deciding how they will be addressed requires legal advice and a law firm that helps clients with high asset divorce property division should be called immediately.