Divorce Mediation and Revocable Trust for Parting Couple
- Applicant: Huateng Family
- Nationality: Americans of Chinese descent.
- Case Type: Divorce Mediation and Revocable Trust
- Time: one month
- Challenges:
- The couple are not on speaking terms.
- Complicated financial entanglements.
- Children’s financial future needed protection.
BACKGROUND
The end of a long marriage is an unhappy time for everyone involved. For over two decades Tsang and Associates had developed a close relationship with the Huateng family. Over the years, the firm had happily advised the couple on their many and complicated business dealings to great success. Now, the Huateng family’s needs were deeply personal, and Tsang and Associates had the honor of being of further service to help the both of them save the wealth they created and to part with each other peacefully.
Sadly, Mr. and Mrs. Huateng were no longer on speaking terms. Together they had accumulated a tremendous amount of wealth and now needed to plan for the division of their very complicated assets. While they had the financial wherewithal to pay for the services of two high-priced divorce attorneys, they didn’t want to fall victim to the process and work with someone who will just treat them like a client. While they trusted Tsang and Associates implicitly, the firm had to inform them they do not handle contested divorces. However, Tsang and Associates takes great pride in offering excellent “dual representation” mediation services. In a divorce situation, the firm serves as a mediator to both parties. If both parties can agree on 90% of the post-divorce issues, the firm can draft a Marital Settlement Agreement with significant cost savings for both sides.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
Mr. and Mrs. Huateng agreed to let Tsang and Associates mediate their divorce settlement. Contentious negotiations between couples means the firm walks a tightrope, especially with complicated finances. The couple, now in their fifties, had previous marriages and brought financial holdings prior to their nuptials. They owned lots of real estate and shares in companies in Asia, China, Japan, and the United States. After countless discussions, a Marital Settlement Agreement was hammered out. Part of the agreement required the creation of a Revocable Living Trust to protect the inheritance of their children. Setting up the trust and drafting the Marital Settlement Agreement involved every department of the firm: Trust, Business, Divorce, and Immigration. Because at Tsang and Associates, those departments are all under one roof, the firm could perform the work efficiently and at a fraction of the cost.
OUTCOME
The mediation and subsequent legal documentation came off cleanly with all parties satisfied that their interests, rights, and obligations were represented fairly. Tsang and Associates is honored that the Huateng family trusted the firm to handle the complicated legal arrangements at such a sensitive and difficult point in their lives. We were able to complete the entire process for them painlessly and the results could not have been any better. Very little time spent dealing with this separation and more money for the children and the preparation for a new life. When the settlement was finished both went on different flights and one traveled to Japan and the other to Taiwan. The family said we couldn’t have made the process any easier and it was a work well done.