What to Do with Your Family Business After a Divorce

After all the hard work and time you’ve invested in your business, the last thing you want is for it all to go to waste because you and your spouse are getting divorced. If you and your spouse own a business, it can make your divorce that much more complex and time-consuming.

How can you navigate the process without losing your family business? You and your spouse have a few options.

Buy Your Spouse’s Half of the Business

From a legal and financial perspective, your business is the same as any other asset to be equally divided between you and your spouse. If you don’t want to divide the business in two, you can buy your spouse’s half or you can trade other assets for an even exchange.

If you can muster it, running the business together is an option for you to keep ownership of the business. However, the simpler solution is to buy it outright.

Continue to Own the Business Together

For some couples, owning the business together is a good option. If you and your former spouse think that you can continue working together, you will be able to keep your interest in the business, which means neither you nor your spouse has to sell their share of the business. Another benefit is that you don’t have to spend on a valuation—which can be an expensive process.

Both of you can stay involved in the business if you want to, but coming up with an agreement is challenging—we don’t recommend it for all couples. A negative side to this option is that you will need to maintain close communication with your former spouse to run the business. If this isn’t possible for you, consider buying your former spouse’s half of the business.

Sell Your Business

The final option is to sell the business and split the profit with your spouse. If you chose this option, we recommend hiring an appraiser to perform a valuation of your business so that you can determine an appropriate selling price.

Contact Our Riverside Property Division Attorneys

If you’ve managed the business on your own with little help from your former spouse, it’s possible that a judge will allow you to continue running the business following your divorce. This only happens if only you participated in the day-to-day of the business or if you owned the business before the marriage.

Our Riverside property division attorneys understand that every situation is unique. We’re here to get the results your family deserves, and we make a tailored approach for every client. Our legal team can explain the different options available to you and guide you through the process.

Call (888) 251-9618 to schedule a free consultation with our Riverside property division attorneys!