What makes a case complex
A business or professional practice. The hardest asset in a divorce. It must be valued, and the marital portion identified — which is not the same as the whole business where it predates the marriage or grew partly through outside factors.
Commingled separate property. An inheritance deposited into a joint account, or a premarital home maintained with marital income. Tracing what remains separate is evidentiary work. See Equitable Distribution.
Deferred and contingent compensation. Stock options, restricted units, and bonuses that vest across the marriage and beyond it, requiring allocation between marital and separate portions.
Retirement assets, particularly defined-benefit pensions. See Retirement Division & QDROs.
Real property beyond the marital home — rental property, land, or out-of-state holdings.
Suspected non-disclosure. Where one spouse controls the finances and the other does not have visibility, establishing the picture is itself the case.
How valuation actually works
Complex divorces are largely run on expert evidence. Depending on the assets, that can mean a business appraiser, a forensic accountant, a pension actuary, or a real estate appraiser.
Two practical points.
Experts can be joint or separate. A single neutral expert is cheaper and reduces the risk of duelling valuations. Separate experts give each side more control. Which fits depends on the level of trust.
The valuation date matters and is not always obvious, particularly for an asset whose value moves with the market or with one spouse’s continuing efforts. DRL §236(B)(4)(b) allows valuation dates between commencement and trial. Courts often value assets driven by a spouse’s work at commencement and market-driven assets nearer trial. McSparron v McSparron treats this distinction as guidance, not an inflexible rule; the facts can justify another date.
Disclosure is the foundation
Both spouses file a sworn Statement of Net Worth, and in a complex case it drives everything. An inaccurate one causes serious problems later — an agreement reached on incomplete disclosure can be challenged.
Where disclosure is genuinely incomplete, discovery tools exist to compel it. That is one of the main reasons a complex case belongs in a contested posture rather than in mediation, where nothing can be compelled.
Keeping the cost proportionate
Complex divorces get expensive when every asset is fought over. They stay proportionate when the parties identify the two or three genuinely disputed items and resolve the rest by agreement.
The useful early question is not “what is everything worth” but “what do we actually disagree about.” Frequently the answer is one asset, and the rest is process.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a divorce high-asset or complex?
Difficulty valuing or dividing assets rather than their size — a business, restricted equity, commingled separate property, or pensions. A large but simple estate is not a complex divorce.
How is a business valued in a divorce?
By a qualified appraiser, using recognized valuation approaches. The marital portion must then be identified, which is separate from valuing the business as a whole.
What if I think my spouse is hiding assets?
Formal discovery can compel disclosure, and forensic accountants can trace funds. This is a reason to be in a contested posture rather than mediation, where nothing can be compelled.
Do we need separate experts?
Not necessarily. A joint neutral expert is cheaper and avoids competing valuations. Separate experts give each side more control. It depends on the level of trust.
Is my premarital business protected?
The business itself is generally separate property, but appreciation during the marriage may be partly marital, particularly where it resulted from either spouse’s efforts.
Related: Equitable Distribution · Retirement Division & QDROs · Contested Divorce · back to Divorce
Written by Dale Riedel, Esq. · Admitted in New York, Bar No. 5837539 · Last reviewed October 6, 2026