Given that — unless we’re Bill Gates or another select member of the extreme-wealth club — we all need money and a continuing source of income, it is completely unsurprising that property- and asset-related issues are a big deal in most divorce matters.
As we duly note on our website at the Coeur d’Alene law firm of Palmer George & Taylor PLLC, where family law advocacy comprises a key practice area, “How the marital estate is divided during divorce can have a significant impact on your financial stability following a divorce.”
What we impliedly emphasize in that statement is that most divorcing individuals in Idaho and elsewhere are necessarily focused upon a proper asset-division outcome in our so-called “community property” state. Every divorcing person steps forward following dissolution toward a new beginning, and financial stability is a key component in helping to ensure prosperity and stability.
Some divorcing couples have diverse and significant asset holdings, which, in some cases, include a family-owned business. As we note in the above headline for today’s post, that can breed both challenges and opportunities.
As for the former, coming to a determination regarding how a business will be valuated and ultimately dealt with in a divorce can be a truly complex endeavor. One spouse might want to keep the enterprise and continue to run it, while the other wants nothing more than its sale and attendant share of the proceeds. Or, alternatively, both soon-to-be former partners might want to continue operating the business following dissolution. Maybe one party needs to take out a loan, or perhaps even sell stock, to raise the capital necessary to buy out the other. Other scenarios, too, might additionally loom.
Such challenges are of course often offset by the positives inherent in such an enterprise, most centrally that it exists and serves as a material wealth source that can benefit both individuals in a divorce.
A reasonable first step for a divorcing Idaho resident with questions or concerns regarding a family-owned business is consultation with a proven family law attorney well experienced in complex property division. Input from seasoned legal counsel can help clarify options and yield a strategy that promotes the best interests of all parties involved.
