What steps can you take to protect business interests in a Louisville divorce? Divorce involving substantial assets such as a business or professional practice are much more legally and financially complex. It will take time to work through each step of the process and complete your divorce. Business owners and working professionals often ask our divorce and family law attorneys what they can do to protect their business interests before, during and after a divorce.
One of the best tools for any business owner or licensed professional is the implementation of a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. While a prenuptial agreement can protect your assets in the future, the majority of business owners and professionals did not enter into a prenuptial agreement prior to their marriage. In these cases you should consider a postnuptial agreement. These agreements will be closely scrutinized by the Court so it is important for your attorneys to carefully craft an enforceable agreement.
An effective postnuptial agreement benefits both parties when a divorce is anticipated. The postnuptial agreement is a contract between the party which stipulates what happens to important assets in the event of a divorce or the death of a party. Working through these issues provides financial security for both parties, reduces the time and expense of future litigation and ensures each party knows their important priorities are protected.
Another important issue when working to protect business interests in a Louisville divorce is to keep business assets and funds completely separate from marital accounts. Never commingle marital funds with business funds, or use marital assets to further the company’s interests. Blending the business with marital funds and assets will make it much harder (and expensive) for a business owner or professional to keep their company or practice viable during and after the divorce.
Some might think the best way to protect business interests in a Louisville divorce is to attempt to influence the success of the company, the income it is generating or the compensation one receives. Any attempt to manipulate the business or hide income and assets will result in harsh consequences from the Court. This could include stiff financial sanctions or the loss of the asset altogether.
The experienced, proven divorce and family law attorneys at Dodd & Dodd have represented numerous business owners and professionals (even other attorneys) in Louisville divorces. We work with our clients from the outset to develop and implement strategies to protect our client’s business interests while achieving their goals and objectives for their divorce.
We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and contact us or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced divorce and family law attorneys.
