KLG represented Libby Dunn, wife, against Mark Dunn, husband.

This was a highly complex international divorce. Libby and Mark, along with their 4 children, moved to America from Australia on Mark’s special work visa. Mark was a high wage earner and Libby worked at a major pharmaceutical company in the marketing department. Her income was 15% of her husband’s. We had to adjust some things as certain property was located in Australia, including significant real estate and retirement funds. There were a lot of real estate and retirement assets located in the United States as well.

Before Libby and Mark’s divorce was complete, Mark moved back to Australia. We settled the case on the known numbers:  child custody to Libby, parenting time to both; child support based on conversion of Australian dollars converted to U.S. for Mark, U.S. dollars for Libby; a partial alimony buyout from Mark to Libby; and division and distribution of all assets, both U.S. and Australia.  We completed the divorce in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Two years post-divorce, Mark got laid off from his job. Libby’s alimony was at risk.  Not wanting to go back to Australia, Libby felt threatened because her husband’s work visa is what allowed her to reside in the United States. Her company got her a temporary visa. However, in the Trump era, unless modified quickly, Libby is likely to lose her immigration status in 2021.

Dividing up the Dunns’ retirement money post-divorce proved challenging.  To value and divide the retirement assets was complicated, since they each had their own assets in both countries. To obtain data from all the administrations, we used a forensic expert.  At this point, the parties were in complete cooperation.  Again, we had to balance the analysis based on dual currencies, gave Libby all of the U.S. assets, and obtained a court order in Australia to divide what was owed to her. Mark and Libby agreed that Libby would get extra retirement resources to cover his missing alimony payments, which worked quite well for both of them.

This case took 4 years and a lot of patience and work to solve the puzzle, which only happened in early 2021.  Our use of judicial resources was limited.  We used mediation, MESP, more mediation, a joint financial expert, and the goodwill of both parties.  For the last 18 months, Mark was self-representing, so we had plenty of time and opportunity to work directly and cooperatively with him.

KLG’s diligence and persistence paid off, as we successfully achieved our client’s long-term goals without causing her an undue expense of money and stress.