Ending a marriage is not an easy task. No matter how long you have been married, divorce means separating two lives, which can be as messy as it sounds. The situation can become even more difficult if you have children or assets that you look at as you would a child, such as your business.
As an entrepreneur, you undoubtedly want to protect your business and your interest in it during your divorce. Depending on the exact circumstances of your situation, you may have various protection options available. In a best-case scenario, you and your spouse would have created a prenuptial agreement to address the business in case of divorce, but you may not have taken this route for whatever reason. Fortunately, you are not out of luck.
Protective measures
Now that you know a divorce is coming or it is already underway, it is important that you do your part to protect your business. This does not necessarily mean that you should take unscrupulous measures to cheat your soon-to-be ex out of his or her fair share of assets, but you can protect your business assets in ways such as the following examples:
- Keep records of whether you used marital or premarital funds for any business setup or operations. These records could include payments for rent, office space, business supplies or other business aspects.
- If your business utilizes cash transactions, make sure you have thorough and clear records for those transactions.
- Ensure that your business expenses and personal expenses stay separate. Handling personal expenses through your business could make valuations and other financial matters more complicated.
- Make sure that you have established yourself as the sole owner of the business if that is the case. Also, ensure that proper documents have been created that prevent the transfer of the company due to divorce.
- Consider how the income you pay yourself could factor into the financial aspects and property division aspects of your divorce.
As a business owner, you certainly understand that it takes work to make transactions and changes go smoothly. The same notion applies to divorce.
Further protections
You may have interest in other actions you could take to protect your company during your divorce. Speaking with a knowledgeable Florida attorney could allow you to gain reliable and applicable information about your legal options and the impacts divorce could have on your business. Moving forward with professional assistance may help put your mind more at ease.
