You have likely gone through many life events that have made you feel happy and proud. Two of those events may have included starting your own business and getting married. The days these events took place, you may not have believed that any negative impact could befall your business or your marriage. Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be the case.
Your marriage may have lasted a good number of years before problems became too much, and now you face divorce. This situation means your once-happy marriage is coming to an end, and your business could also be at risk of facing negative repercussions.
Protecting your business
The details of your relationship may have significant impacts on the outcomes of your divorce case. Still, you do not want your company to suffer any more than necessary, which may mean taking steps to lessen the claim your spouse may have on company assets. Ideally, if you started your business before you got married, you also created a prenuptial agreement that limited your spouse’s claim to the business. Of course, love and happiness may have made this document seem unnecessary, and as a result, you did not make one.
Fortunately, a lack of prenuptial agreement does not mean that divorce will ruin your company. The type of business entity you created could also play a role in how protected your business is in the event of divorce. For instance, an LLC could hold the title of certain assets.
You could also create a trust to act as the owner of the business. This step would separate you from the business, and separate the business assets from the marital estate. As a result, you may have a greater chance of lessening the claim your soon-to-be ex may have.
Valuing your business
Even taking these steps may not mean that your spouse will walk away with nothing from your business. During divorce, the value of your company will play an important role. It may benefit you to have your business’s value determined by a professional who understands business valuation.
Additionally, you may find it in your best interests to gain the assistance of an attorney with experience in divorces involving business assets. Having this assistance may allow you to understand other ways to protect your assets and work toward the outcomes you desire.