By Frazer Rice
High-net-worth families often assume that sophisticated estate planning structures can insulate wealth from disruption. Today’s divorce case study shows why coordination of complex financial affairs matters as much as structure.
In C.S. v. R.H., 2025 NY Slip Op 51426(U), a New York court looked beyond formal trust documents and focused instead on control, conduct, and fairness. This approach offered important lessons for ultra-high-net-worth families navigating complex relationships, liquidity events, and multigenerational planning.
This divorce case study centers on a 24-year marriage that transformed dramatically after a major liquidity event.
What began modestly changed overnight when Goldman Sachs acquired the husband’s investment firm, propelling the couple’s net worth to approximately $120 million, eventually growing to more than $181 million.
With the help of a trust and estate attorney, but without independent counsel for the wife, the couple implemented an intricate estate plan. This included irrevocable trusts for their children and future generations, along with LLCs and related entities designed primarily for estate tax efficiency.
On paper, the plan worked. The trusts held residences, funded lifestyle expenses, and supported the family’s day-to-day life. In practice, however, control remained concentrated with the husband only. That imbalance would become central once the marriage ended.
The turning point came after the wife filed for divorce in 2018.
The husband took unilateral steps to remove her access to trust-held assets, transferred trusts into new Delaware structures without her knowledge, and ultimately evicted her from properties the family had long enjoyed.
While the trusts were technically irrevocable and third-party managed, the court found that the husband exercised continuous de facto control by appointing trustees, directing asset transfers, and setting below-market rents for family use.
Critically, the wife testified credibly that she relied on her husband’s assurances, believed she would continue to gain from the trust structures, and was never advised to seek her own legal counsel. The court accepted that reliance as reasonable.
The court carefully reviewed precedent and determined that while it could not dissolve or distribute the trusts themselves, it could consider the value of marital assets placed into those trusts when crafting an equitable distribution.
Why? Because the trusts were:
In short, the legal form did not override the economic reality.
This divorce case study sends a clear signal to ultra-high-net-worth families: trust planning does not exist in a vacuum.
When one spouse retains practical control over wealth structures, courts may intervene to prevent unjust enrichment. Sophisticated planning that lacks balance and transparency can unravel quickly under scrutiny.
Several lessons emerge from this scenario:
These are strategic imperatives for complex family financial affairs.
For families with $20M+ in net worth, this divorce case study highlights the importance of a financial advisor who can orchestrate the broader advisory ecosystem.
At Next Vantage, our role is to bring order to complexity. We coordinate across legal, tax, and personal dimensions so wealth structures function as intended, across marriages, generations, and unforeseen life events.
This approach includes estate and trust structure review, fiduciary oversight, and integration with attorneys and CPAs who serve the family alongside us.
This divorce case study illustrates a simple but often overlooked reality: even the most sophisticated planning can fail without coordination, clarity, and accountability. For ultra-high-net-worth families, the goal is to provide a complete view of your financial structures so they function fairly and as intended.
Next Vantage has the knowledge and experience to help. Our team compares disparate complex financial elements to provide a holistic perspective, helping families make more informed decisions that support durable outcomes across all seasons of life.
Schedule a conversation or referral introduction by calling (212) 433-1108 or emailing frice@nextcapitalmgmt.com.
This divorce case study shows how courts may look beyond formal trust and estate documents to examine how wealth is actually controlled and used during a marriage. For high-net-worth families, it highlights that even sophisticated planning can be vulnerable if structures lack balance, transparency, and shared governance.
As this divorce case study demonstrates, courts may still consider the economic reality of irrevocable trusts when they are funded with marital assets and effectively controlled by one spouse. While the trusts themselves may not be divided, their role in supporting the marital lifestyle can influence equitable distribution decisions.
Families can reduce risk by having each spouse receive independent advice, clearly defining control and governance over trusts, and coordinating estate, tax, and financial planning across advisors. Working with a firm like Next Vantage helps align complex structures so they function as intended across life events such as divorce, succession, or liquidity changes.
Frazer Rice is Director of Family Office Services and a Partner at Next Vantage, the Family Office Services group of Next Capital Management in New York City. With more than two decades of experience advising ultra-high-net-worth families, Frazer helps clients bring structure, clarity, and coordination to complex wealth. He specializes in intergenerational planning, fiduciary strategy, and family governance, helping clients manage both the financial and human sides of wealth. Known for his sharp, strategic thinking, Frazer provides a board of directors-level perspective, helping families identify risks, organize priorities, and align advisors around long-term goals.
Before joining Next Capital, he served as Regional Director at Pendleton Square Trust and spent 16 years at Wilmington Trust, where he rose to Managing Director in the New York office. He is the author of Wealth, Actually: Intelligent Decision-Making for the 1% and host of the Wealth Actually podcast, exploring the modern wealth ecosystem.
Frazer earned his BA in Political Science and History from Duke University and his JD from Emory University School of Law. He serves as President of the New York City Estate Planning Council and is a frequent speaker on wealth management and family dynamics. A Manhattan resident, his interests include golf, yoga, media production, politics, horror movies, and 1980s pop culture. To learn more about Frazer, connect with him on LinkedIn.