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Protecting Businesses in a Divorce

Kansas Family Law Attorneys Help Clients Protect Business Assets During Divorce

Overland Park law firm advises on shielding ownership interests from property division

Business owners who divorce their spouses face the possibility that their ownership interests might be treated as marital property subject to an equitable distribution. If you are in this situation, the court may award your spouse a share of your business, which means having to run your operation while giving your ex-spouse part of the profits. Or, you may have to buy out your spouse or sell the business to an outsider. The attorneys at The Henry Law Firm, P.A. are sensitive to these issues and will work aggressively to protect your stake in the business from those dangers.

Advanced planning to divorce-proof your business

If you own or partly own a business, you need not and should not wait until you are amid a divorce before acting to protect it. There are several precautionary measures available, including:

  • Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements — We can negotiate and prepare an agreement that designates the business as separate property; and therefore, not be subject to an equitable distribution. However, to ensure that the divorce court will recognize the agreement as legal, both parties should enter into the agreement represented by their own separate attorney and provide full disclosure of each other’s finances.
  • Operating agreements — If the business is a corporation, partnership or other entity separate from your personal ownership, its operating agreement can set down terms of ownership and control in the event an owner gets divorced. It can also prohibit the transfer of interests to an owner’s spouse in a divorce or include similar protective provisions.
  • Limitations on your spouse’s involvement — Allowing your spouse to invest in the business or to take part in management can cause a portion of the business to become marital property. Whether you owned the business before the marriage or acquired it afterwards, keeping your spouse out of the business may help prevent it from becoming entangled in the divorce.
  • Salary arrangements — Paying yourself a full, competitive salary during the marriage is a way to guard against your spouse claiming to have been denied an equitable share of profits of the business during the marriage.

As your counsel, the attorneys at The Henry Law Firm, P.A. will fully investigate your business circumstances, advise you on all of your potential options and execute the measures best suited to achieving your objectives.

How do you protect your business when filing for divorce?

If you do not pre-plan to protect your business, it is still possible to shield it during an equitable distribution. The attorneys at The Henry Law Firm, P.A. will make an evidentiary case to minimize your spouse’s interest in the business and its assets. It may be advisable to arrange a buy out of your spouse’s interest. If you have sufficient independent assets to off-set the business’s value, we might be able to reach an agreement to designate the entire business as yours during equitable distribution. Finally, if there is a valid dispute as to how the business should be appraised, we will seek to adopt the method most favorable to protecting your interests.

Contact a respected Kansas attorney skilled in treatment of business assets in divorce

The attorneys at The Henry Law Firm, P.A., in Overland Park, Kansas, can help you protect your business from the effects of divorce, both before and after proceedings have been commenced. Call us at 913-381-5020 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

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