Are you searching for important insights for business owners in a Louisville divorce? The Louisville divorce and family law attorneys at Dodd & Dodd have decades of experience in divorce and family law cases involving a business or professional practice. If you own a business and are considering a divorce it will be important to carefully consider many aspects of preparation as well as how your interests will be handled during a divorce.
One of the most important insights for business owners in a Louisville divorce is how the asset of a business or professional practice will be handled in the divorce. The first question is the characterization of the asset: is it a marital asset (acquired or started after the date of the marriage and before the date of separation), the separate property of the business owner or something of a blend of the two? In Kentucky, marital property is to be divided equitably between the parties. Therefore, the marital property interest in your business should be equitable divided between you and your spouse.
Another of the important insights for business owners in a Louisville divorce is the process of valuation. Valuation can be quite contentious as the interests of the parties are quite opposed. The owner of the business should be looking for the lowest possible valuation which results in a smaller amount of Marital property interest. The spouse of the business owner has a direct incentive to ensure the highest possible valuation as that will result in a higher value for the marital interest in the company and ultimately more money during property division.
If the spouses started the business together a decision will have to be made as to whether one will buy out the marital interest of the other, the business will be sold and the remaining equity divided between the parties, or if the parties can continue to work together after the divorce, each maintaining their respective ownership position.
It is also important to note that any effort by the business owner to conceal income or business assets and/or manipulate income and earnings (and therefore the valuation) can create legal and financial issues which will come back to harm the interests of the business owner themselves. There are legal strategies based upon substantial advance planning to help prepare business owners if they are considering a divorce. If you own a business or professional practice and are even beginning to consider the end of a marriage it is important to seek the advice and counsel of the fivorce and family law attorneys at Dodd & Dodd.
Pre-plan as much as possible. For additional insights for business owners in a Louisville 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.
