Owning a joint business with a spouse while facing a divorce is a very devastating experience. An experienced divorce attorney for business owners in Ohio will advise on a keen evaluation of the business at stake before filing a divorce in the first place. Remember, it always raises feuds between spouses, and this can be a downward path to the extinction of solvent businesses. However, there is still a remedy to ensuring that all this does not befall an operative business. So, how does protecting a business during a divorce go about? Now, before the spouses get entangled in the feud, the business has to be rendered as a joint enterprise. The following are some of the measures that can be legally put in place:
Getting a fair evaluation
The business needs to be professionally evaluated to ensure an equitable division. However, this should only be a remedy when the spouses cannot agree on a fair way of dividing the assets and shares. How is this done? The business has a long history of transactions with its suppliers and financiers, and this has to be taken into keen consideration. A fair evaluation will also put future projections and business deals that are yet to be commissioned into play. Remember, everything has to be fair. All these are put into consideration to determine the fair market value of the business in question.
Having insurance
Having a precautionary measure such as a hefty insurance package can come through when you are wanting to pay off or buy decisive shares with a majority vote in a business. A good whole-life insurance policy gives you access to cash that can be easily liquidated to purchase shares after a fair valuation of the company. When one spouse buys another one’s shares, then the business can be salvaged from insolvency or any other jeopardy threw at it by the divorce. Nevertheless, if a concerned party is liquid enough to raise the cash without liquidating the insurance, then it is a plus on his/her side.
Creating a prenup
As a common way of divorce-proofing a business, a written prenup can come in handy when protecting a business. Concerned parties write down their wealth expectations and property rights in any case a divorce befalls them. However, these prenups should be well-drafted and legally binding so that any court or attorney will honor them in case of a legal tussle. Often, both parties are represented by their attorneys who ensure that there is full disclosure and that there is no hidden asset from the prenup. Upon divorce, there will be a distinction between separate property and marital property.
Raising the business capital
This is the final measure that someone goes for when caught up in an ugly divorce that seeks to reap down his business. Before deciding on who takes what shares, a keen evaluation of the business is done, and the capital determined. If one can raise total business capital, then they can own the business after all. This is more or less the same as buying leading shares in an entity.
