High-earning men do not usually lose half because a statute says they must.

They lose half because they walk into a lawyer's office with a feeling and a login to one bank account. No inventory. No paper trail for what was theirs before the marriage. No clean picture of the business, the RSUs, the real estate, the deferred comp. The other side's counsel then defines the estate.

If you are planning to file, the work starts before the petition:

• A dated inventory. Statements, deeds, cap tables, K-1s. If it is not in the file, it does not exist in the negotiation.

• Proof for anything you claim as separate. Title, inheritance, pre-marriage statements. Commingling is where well-off men bleed.

• A one-page briefing for counsel: income, assets, debts, kids, timeline, and what you actually want protected — ranked.

That is planning. It is not legal advice. It is not hiding money. Men who show up with a file spend less and do not default to 50/50 because nobody did the work.

If that is you, Split Smart is built for it.