Divorce and Your Business Accounts

Are you a business owner going through a divorce? You are likely wondering what will happen to your business after your divorce is finalized. There are many potential outcomes, but whatever you do, be sure to consult with your business accountant, whether (s)he be a financial advisor in Owings Mills MD, or a wealth management advisor in DC or another part of the country.

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If you owned a business before you were married, there will be many questions surrounding the amount to which your spouse is entitled. In most incidents, a spouse is not entitled to earnings made before the marriage. However, after a marriage, increases in profits and projected revenue may be considered marital assets, and you may have to pay your partner half of your current and future income from the business.

If you and your spouse co-own a business, dividing the assets may become more complicated, and you may need your business accountant, as well as your attorneys, to step in. In some instances, partners may dissolve or sell their practices. In others, they may continue to run the business together if they feel this is possible, and ask a mediator to step in concerning business decisions on which they cannot agree.

If you and your spouse have children, you must take into account what is best for them as well. We have heard horror stories of estranged spouses squandering their business earnings on a new significant other, while the ex-spouse nervously watches the children’s college funds disappear. There are also cases in which one partner plans to leave, but is waiting for a spouse’s business to turn a profit. Finance, marriage, and the law are all complicated matters individually. When these concepts are combined, years of litigation can ensue before spouses either reach an agreeable outcome, or simply decide the process has been too long and settle.

If you are a business owner, we understand your desire to protect what you’ve built, especially after the traumatic dissolution of your marriage. make sure that your divorce and your finances are in capable hands.

 

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