Protecting your company that you’ve worked hard to build is a priority for most business owners. While you might be focused on things like being able to ensure that you can keep the profits up to cover the bills and protecting it against competitors, there is another thing that some small business owners need to think about. This is what will happen to the business if your marriage ends.
Some businesses are covered in the prenuptial agreement, so you’ll be able to turn to that document to find out what’s going to happen to the company if it’s included. For some people, there wasn’t a prenup in place because there wasn’t a business to think about when they got married. A postnuptial agreement might work in much the same way, but the protection isn’t as strong for this one as it is with a prenup.
When neither a prenup nor postnuptial agreement is in place, you and your ex can come up with a way to handle the business. One thing that you’ll need to do is have it valuated. This gives you a baseline for what needs to happen with the split, so both parties can know how the business falls in the negotiations.
Remember, the value of the business is based on several factors, so it’s best to work with someone who’s familiar with this concept. You need to ensure that the company is handled properly when you’re going through the divorce. In some cases, the business is the largest asset that has to be divided. When it isn’t the largest, it might come in close.