If you are a business owner and are preparing to divorce, protecting your business interests may be of preeminent concern. Your business may be considered to be the community property of you and your estranged spouse, and if it is not handled correctly, your continued ownership could be in jeopardy.
You will need to have your business assets valued. In order to determine the worth of the assets, you may need to employ forensic accountants who specialize in business valuations and the determination of the portion of assets that are community property. You will also need to be able to prepare projections of your business’s expected future profits.
You may want to sell the business and liquidate the assets for purposes of property division. Otherwise, you may be interested in buying out your spouse’s interest in the business so you can continue its operation after your divorce.
At our law firm, our attorneys have extensive experience in helping our clients with their complex property division matters. When we represent business owners, we work hard to preserve their business interests so they can continue operating it after their divorce. When we represent the spouse of a business owner, we use forensic accountants to value the business and to determine the extent of assets that should be considered to be the community property of both. We then work hard to ensure our clients get their fair share of the marital property. Sometimes, we are able to negotiate agreements on our clients’ behalf in order to help protect their businesses. If litigation is necessary, we will proceed aggressively. Should you have questions about your own business valuation and division, you may want to read our page on property valuation and division for further information on the services that we can provide.