A divorce is a tumultuous time. If you own a business, the process can be more frustrating and complex. When money is at stake, the process of ending a marriage can be complicated. The goal is to get through the divorce process with few interruptions to your business if you can. To help protect your business during a divorce, consider the following:
Get a Postnuptial Agreement
If you expect to get a divorce in the near future, consider getting a postnuptial agreement. This is just like a prenuptial agreement but done after you are married. The agreement protects your assets in the event you get a divorce. Since your business is an asset, you want to be sure you are protected if you do not intend for your spouse to have a part of it. If you plan to go this route, do so as soon as possible.
Call Your Attorney Right Away
Once you know you are going to divorce, call your attorney immediately. Your first step is to figure out how you will divide your assets. This may include some consultants as well as your attorney, including a financial advisor, business attorney, accountant, and anyone else who can aid in getting your business affairs settled. If your spouse is a partner in your business, you need to decide if you will buy out your spouse or how you will still work together after your marriage ends.
Be Careful When Dividing Assets
You may want to get the divorce process over with as soon as possible. However, you do not need to be hasty when you divide your assets, business or otherwise. If you try to do this right away without your attorney, you could end up with a property division situation in which one of you ends up with an unfair settlement.
A mistake many spousal business owners make is deciding initially to divide the business evenly. However, this can lead to different problems. The first thing you need to realize is that you may not be able to work together like you once did. You also should be certain your former spouse will not sell off his or her part of the business later on, whether in necessity or through spite.
If you and your spouse own a business, you need to be thoughtful with how you proceed. Be sure to work closely with a divorce lawyer before you make any decisions on your business.
Share31 May 2019
Are you going through a divorce? Do you have kids? If so, do you know how to handle the many struggles you will face when it comes to your kids? Even if you and your spouse can get through the divorce while agreeing on the custody arrangements, there will be struggles that you may not have planned for. For example, who will handle the educational, medical or other decisions about the kids? Is it something that you will decide together, or will one parent make the decision and the other one agree? My site contains several tips that can help you plan for the struggles you will go through in the future and make the situation a little easier for your entire family.