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"Our experience includes successfully litigating against the major family law firms, specializing in complex property divorce litigation, in Los Angeles."
Michael Kelly, Founder

New Client Questionnaire

Michael Kelly, 40 Years Family & Divorce Law Experience:Resume

Michael Kelly's exposure to different businesses and business executives in Los Angeles for the past 40 years provides an invaluable ingredient to the divorce process.

Some of the complex business issues we have managed during the divorce process include:

• Personal vs. business debts
• Personal vs. business expenses
• Personal vs. business assets
• Personal vs. business income
• Personal vs. business taxes
• Asset, income and debt tracing
• Stock options
• Vested pensions, non vested pensions
• Profit sharing plans (vested and non vested)
• 401(k)s
• Loan-out corporations
• Entertainment industry pensions, SAG, AFTRA, Director's Guild, Writer's
• Guild, Teamsters
• Verification of contributions
• Producers credits
• Song writers credits
• Utilization of sophisticated entertainment industry accountants
• Patents, pending and realized
• Trademark issues
• Brand issues
• Deal point memos
• Valuation of pending law suits (tort, personal injury, contractual rights, copyrights)
• Proprietary interest
• Real estate project valuations (in progress construction and completed construction, fully leased/occupied )
• Real estate purchase options
• Division of annuity
• Division of tax payments and IRS responsibilities
• BMI song writer rights
• Script options
• Band name rights
• Recording contracts
• Complex tax and IRS issues in the division of high asset divorce estates
• Tax consequences of all the aforementioned issues
  

From entertainment executives, doctors, lawyers, chief executives, engineers to psychiatrist, Mr. Kelly has successfully helped navigate these professionals through the twist and turns of the divorce process.

More importantly Mr. Kelly runs a business with 38 employees with a mid six figure monthly budget and mid seven figure annual income.

His understanding of the mechanics of business enables him to truly appreciate the forces that business executives, entrepreneurs, and high level chief excutives must deal with on a day to day basis.

Michael Kelly: Personal Business Experience:

Mr. Kelly represented Mr. Jim Aubry, CBS President (1970's). He also represented a notable Southern California defense contractor with a 60 miliion dollar defense specialty business, another defense contractor who made critical parts for our nuclear submarine force, and the owner of a national mortgage company worth over a $120 million dollars.

Mr. Kelly, as highlighted in his ENTERTAINMENT EXECUTIVES page on this web site, has represented numerous entertainment personalities and executives including record company heads and famous actors

Child Custody:

Nothing is more taxing on an executive's ability to focus on his or her executive task than the custody of his or her children.

With our experienced child custody attorneys and the assistance of fantastic, dedicated, articulate and exceedingly succesful child age specific psychologist we provide the winning presentation so that your child/children have the best possible life you can provide.

Why a Practice Limited to Family Law & Divorce?:

When asked why they work so hard most business executives state emphatically "I'm working for my kids."

This is precisely the reason you should hire an experienced family law custody firm whose practice is specifically limited to family law. Don't waste time and money with an inexperienced or unknowledgable non specialized attorney.

Change your attorney before something serious occurs that can have lasting consequences regarding your childs life. As a business executive your personal decisions have a direct affect on your customers, employees, and vendors.

When you make the right decisions in your divorce process everyone benefits, especially your children and employees.

Single Attorney or Small Office Practioners:

Forget it. Rarely can a single attorney or small office handle the sheer volume of information and processing requirement for a business executive divorce.

Imagine the mere magitude of:

1) Standard law and order motions

2) Court hearings

3) Depositions (whole days spent questioning you or the opposing party)

4) Emergency 24 hour hearings, with or without notice to you (Ex Parte)

5) Response to documents filed against you

6) Replys to documents you filed

7) Court hearing continuances (literally dozens and dozens can be requested and granted)

8) Experts (Forensic divorce accountants, pyschologist, appraisers, to name a few)

9) Witnesses (for or against you)

10) Demand for producution of documents: Both Personal Records and Business Records (all your important personal and business financial documents for several years, bank statements, employee record, stock market records, expense receipts, tax returns. contracts, leases, house and car loan applications, credit card statements, etc., etc.)

11) Protective orders (not allowed to receive financial and other information)

12) Minor's counsel (children's attorneys)

13) Joinder motions (involve other persons into your family law matter

14) Domestic Violence or Restraining Order hearings (these are mini trials, with their own tonnage of requirements)

15) Drafting enforceable important lasting judgments

16) Correctly and completely preparing for trial

17) Intelligently, effectively, litigate and win your case in front of a judge

Also, What Happens When a Single Practicing Attorney:

1) Has multiple large complex cases?
2) Has multiple hearings in different court locations on the same day?
3) Is sick?
4) Is on vacation?
5) Gets tired and forgets things
4) His or her secretary is on maternity leave, sick, quits, on vacation, on personal day off, comes in late, does not return telephone calls, or is simply overwhelmed?

Who Gets the Business?

After working your hands to the bone, spending all your precious time starting and maintaining a business, your spouse now want's to rip it apart.

First a business or a practice evaluation by an experienced forensic divorce accountant is required. The selection introduction and interaction of the forensic divorce account is one of the most important decisions you can make.

Forensic Divorce Accountant:

Literally thousands if not millions of dollars is riding on the outcome of the forensic divorce accounting report. Do not skip on this critical factor.

The future of the empire rest on this report. After carefully choosing your divorce attorney, the forensic divorce accountant is the next single most important financial decision you make in the divorce process.

These specialized accountants prepare initial community balance sheets. With the initial community balance sheet drafts your divorce attorney can then prepare or defend critical yet sometimes onerous discovery demands.

The Discovery Process is Critical in Divorce:

All though all parties must disclose all assets during the pendency of a dissolution, discovery specifically targets critical information required to provide a fair and equitable division of both assets and debts.

Who gets the Family Residence?

All assets are presumed community. If the family residence is adjucated or the parties agree that it is completely community, then ether spouse may offer to buy the other out or it may be sold.

If ether spouse claims a separate property interest, the burden of proof is on the spouse who makes such claim. The claim for separate property thus becomes an evidentiary process.

This will include tracing and documentary proof. Again the forensic divorce accounting report provides critical analysis by which you can assert your community or separate property claim and the indespensable substantiation necessary for such a claim.

What about your Separate Property?

Typically separate property, after it has been adjucated and awarded belongs to the spouse who was successful in the characterization of the asset in question. These assets may include:

• Businesses
• Family residences
• Paintings
• Exotic cars
• Rental properties
• Businesses
• Foreign assets
• Family Trusts
• Inheritances
• Financial accountants
  Future streams of income (royalties, copyrights, stock options, etc.)

Commingly of Funds:

Inadvertent commingly of funds or assets are also of strict concern to the business executive. The selection of the right divorce attorney along with the right forensic divorce accountant again helps you mitigate damage control in this most critical of factors.

Cash Flow Available for Support:

If this item dosen't affect you then nothing will. You do not want to be a victim of a bad cash flow available for support analysis. Careful preparation, synthesis, and interpretation or, if necessary, rebuttal is absolutely required.

Mr. Kelly and his skilled team of financial/real estate/business sharpended divorce attorneys are hyper sensitized to this critical part of the divorce process.

Please do not get an amateur, the negative results can last a lifetime and could cost you thousands if not millions of dollars.

Appropriate Cash Flow Analysis Includes:

• High earner child support situations
• Personal expenses paid by the business
• Life style expense analysis
  
• Community and separate property balance sheets
  
• Tax effects of divorce and tax planning
• Wills
• Beneficiary interest in family living trusts
• Company and personal pension, 401(k)'s, investments, profit sharing programs, stock options, bonuses, etc.
  
• Tracing concealed assets.
  
• Reimbursement for payment of expenses and debts, especially post separation
  
• Rebuttal and refutation of defective cash flow or forensic accounting reports by inferior forensic divorce accountants serving the opposing party

Final thoughts:

Essentially, the divorce process for a busy business executive can be managed intelligently if you make the right choices early. Naturally full disclousure is a prerequisite for an equitable divorce judgment.

It is your responsibility however to use every conceivable technology at your disposal:

• Preeminent experienced successful divorce attorney
  
• Experienced sophisticated forensic divorce accountant
  
• Experienced sophisticated child psychologist

For many years full retirement age was 65. However there are many individuals who are working way past this mark.

Again, careful planning can assist significantly in the support orders so that they take into consideration your appropriate retirement plans. This way you are not inappropriately ordered to pay beyond what you are required to do so.

We hope we have the privilege of serving you and your family's best interest.