High Asset Divorce and Collaboration

Greed, trust and divorce.
How much is enough?
If you built a home together with your spouse and later divorced, you might expect to sell the home and divide the proceeds. What if you bought an exisiting home, improved it, watched it grow as an asset, and then decided to part ways? Would you trust your spouse to accurately represent its value? Would you get an appraisal?

What if your spouse forced you out of the home and then claimed the home was worth less than you thought; then your spouse worked out a secret deal to sell the home while telling you it was appraised at a certain value, inducing you to sign a Marital Settlement Agreement.

You might think this is Fraud. You might think your attorney should have done more to check on the value of the marital home. You might ask the court to throw out the settlement agreement due to fraud.

If the "Home" was the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the value asserted to you was $300 Million, and you settled your divorce for $144 Million, you might be very upset to learn the Dodgers were sold two weeks later for $2 Billion Dollars. Two Billion Dollars make a much larger pile of cash than $144 Million.

http://gma.yahoo.com/jamie-mccourt-claims-foul-pitch-131m-divorce-002230290--abc-news-celebrities.html

The McCourts Divorce has been news for a while.  Do the words Greed, Trust, Divorce, Marital Asset, of Fraud seem different in light of the story above?  The comments following it consistently fault the Wife for being "greedy" or "not doing her homework" or "not being happy with what she agreed to and received." Forget that the law indicates the "property" should be divided EQUALLY. Most observers fault her for wanting a fair share. Some comments from women are the Most appalling: "Oh come on! Take the $131 million and be happy, you old witch. I'm 59, no longer pretty, and would love a payload of $131 million for any reason. Don't get greedy. Were you the driving force behind your ex's success? I think not."

In reality, the former Mrs. McCourt was intimately involved in the Dodgers operations up until "he 'fired' her, and 'from that point forward, he completely excluded her from every aspect of management...'
Clients in Collaborative Divorce proceedings have certain luxuries that litigated cases do not afford. One feature is communication. Communication breeds trust. Trust overcomes greed. Everyone walks away much healthier, happier and overall less combative.

In a Collaborative Divorce, we work together to help you make intelligent decisions affecting your family. Many clients find Collaborative Divorce encourages more honest communications and disclosures while minimizing the costs to your family. One of the best features of a Collaborative Divorce may be keeing your private information and affairs PRIVATE. Noone has to know until you decide what to tell them.

If you would like a private consultation regarding your rights under Florida Law, please call me at (407) 645-3297, or visit my website at www.aubreylaw.com
You can also send an email to aubrey@aubreylaw.com or aubreylaw@gmail.com
Don't allow yourself to be cheated. You have certain rights under the law, but you must insist they be enforced. A

Fraud and Elder Abuse

What happens when you receive a letter from an attorney promising you a settlement of $130,000 but failing to disclose any information as to the case, the parties or how you came to be contacted?

Does your answer change if they include an "Official Bank Check" to cover the court costs as an "advance against "bailiff costs and court fees"?

Unfortunately, many people will fall for this scam and deposit the check into their account, giving vital information to the theives working to steal their money. Others will talk to the scammer on the phone and give all the information needed to have their accounts drained.

Elders are at risk for these scams. The FBI, AARP, and the Florida Department of Elder Affairs all warn of the risks of giving personal information over the phone to someone you don't know, but seniors continue to be duped by official looking correspondence simply because they cannot believe this would be a scam. It all looks so official.

Anyone can go online to verify the identity of an attorney, even those out of state. Go to Martindale.com to find a list of attorneys worldwide who are of good reputation. Lawyers.com and Findlaw.com also lists attorneys. Yes these sites require the attorney to pay a fee for advertising to be listed; however, if attorneys are dealing with you from out of state, shouldn't they be listed somewhere?

Finding an attorney is not hard; verifying the "attorney" who found you is truly serving your interests, may be. Beating fraud is worth the effort.

Identity Theft - What to Do If Your Identity is Stolen

With thanks to the Attorney General, I posted his suggestions below. Identity theft is a problem for many more people than you may realize. Many times Identity theft occurs between family members because they may have access to mail, personal information, etc. Regardless of the perpetrator, the effect can be devastating to the victim. Many people lose thousands and thousands of dollars every day to identity theft and other scams.

Source: The Florida Attorney General's Office

Identity theft is a serious problem that affects millions each year. When an imposter uses your name, social security number (SSN), credit card number, or any other form of personal information without your knowledge, it’s a crime.

Unfortunately, sometimes victims remain unaware that their identity has been stolen until they receive monthly statements for credit card accounts they never applied for, credit reports including unfamiliar debts or monthly statements that include unauthorized charges.

If someone has stolen your identity, immediately take these three steps:

• First: Contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus. Ask them to flag your file with a fraud alert and include a statement that creditors should ask for permission before opening any new accounts under your name. Ask the credit bureaus for copies of your credit reports. Credit bureaus must give you a free copy of your report if it is inaccurate because of fraud. Review your reports carefully to make sure no additional fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name or unauthorized charges made to your existing accounts. In a few months, order new copies of your reports to verify corrections and changes, and to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred. For more information on your rights and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, log on to http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/05/fcratest.shtm

Company	Report Fraud	Other Credit Report	Web Site
Equifax	(800) 525-6285	(800)685-1111	http://www.equifax.com/
Experian	(888)397-3742	(888)397-3742	http://www.experian.com/
Trans Union	(800)680-7289	(800)916-8800	http://www.tuc.com/

• Second, contact the creditors for any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Speak with someone in the security or fraud department, and follow up in writing. Following up with a letter is one of the procedures spelled out in the Fair Credit Billing Act for resolving errors on credit billing statements, including charges that you have not made. Sample letters are available in the booklet ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name .
• Third, Fraudulent Use of Personal identification Information is a violation of Florida law pursuant to §817.568, Florida Statutes (1999). File a report with your local police department or the police in the community where the identity theft took place. Keep a copy just in case creditors need proof of the crime.

Take Control
Although identity thieves can destroy your personal finances, there are some things you can do to take control of the situation.

Some ways to handle the most common forms of identity theft are:

A- If an identity thief has stolen your mail for access to new credit cards, bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers and tax information or falsified change-of-address forms, that person has committed a crime. Report it to your local postal inspector. You may contact the United States Postal Inspection Service online at https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/

B- If an identity thief has changed the billing address on an existing credit card account, close the account immediately. When you open a new account, ask that a password be used before any inquiries or changes can be made on the account. Avoid using easily available information like your mother’s maiden name, birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers. Avoid the same information and numbers when you create a Personal Identification Number (PIN).

C- If an identity thief has accessed your bank accounts, checking account or ATM card, close the accounts immediately. When you open new accounts, insist on password-only access. If your checks have been stolen or misused, stop payment. If your ATM card has been lost, stolen or otherwise compromised, cancel the card and ask for another with a new PIN. For more information, you may also contact the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency online Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

D- If an identity thief has established new phone or wireless service in your name and is making unauthorized calls that appear to come from—and are billed to—your cellular phone, or is using your calling card and PIN, contact your service provider immediately to cancel the account and calling card. Obtain new accounts and new PINs..

E- If an identity thief is using your social security number (SSN) when applying for a job, get in touch with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to verify the accuracy of your reported earnings and that your name is reported correctly. Call (800) 772-1213 to check your social security statement. To report SSN fraud online, log on to http://www.ssa.gov/oig/ifyou.htm.

F- If, after trying to resolve the problems brought on by identity theft you continue to experience problems, the SSA may issue you a new SSN at your request. However, consider this option very carefully. A new SSN may not resolve your identity theft problems, and may actually create new problems. For example, a new SSN does not ensure a new credit record because credit bureaus may combine the credit records from your old SSN with those from your new SSN. Even when the old credit information is not associated with your new SSN, the absence of any credit history under your new SSN may make it difficult to obtain credit. Lastly, there is no guarantee that a new SSN would not also be misused by an identity thief.

G- If any identity thief is using your name or SSN to obtain a driver’s license, report it to your Department of Motor Vehicles. Also, if your state uses your SSN as your driver’s license number, ask to substitute another number.

Stay Alert
Taking the steps outlined here should, in most cases, resolve your identity theft problems, but identity theft or related credit problems may reoccur. Stay alert to new instances of identity theft. Notify the company, creditor or agency that is involved immediately and always follow up in writing.

Order a copy of your credit report from the three credit bureaus every year to check on their accuracy and whether they include only those debts and loans you’ve incurred. This could be very important if you’re considering a major purchase, such as a house or car. A credit bureau may charge a fee for a copy of your report.

More resources and information, including an identity theft toolkit, are available online at: http://myfloridalegal.com/identitytheft

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC)
If you’ve been a victim of identity theft, file a complaint with FTC by contacting their Identity Theft Hotline toll-free at, 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); or TDD at 202-326-2502; by mail to the Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580. You may also file a complaint online at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

The FTC publishes free brochures on identity theft and many consumer issues. For a complete list of publications, write for Best Sellers, Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580; or call toll-free 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357), TDD 202-326-2502; or log on to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.shtm.