New York female business owners have a lot at stake when it comes to undergoing a divorce. If you’ve been thinking of filing for divorce but putting it off because you’re not sure what’s going to happen to your business, it’s time to face your fear. By understanding what can happen to your business, you can help to position yourself in a favorable place so that you get the outcome that you’re looking for from your divorce.
Is your business marital property?
To properly determine the division of assets for your divorce, you’ll need to look at the legal ownership of your business. Unless your spouse signed a prenuptial agreement or, in some cases, a postnuptial agreement that relinquished their claim to any stake in your business, it’s likely that your business will be seen as marital property.
Just because your business is considered marital property doesn’t mean that you’re going to lose it. Rather, it just means that you’re going to have to do more work than if it was just considered separate property. Before you can do anything, you need to bring in a professional appraiser to value your business. This will give you a starting point to determine just how much money your spouse has in the business.
Consider an alternative
In most divorces, you have three solutions. You can opt for selling your business and splitting the proceeds with your spouse. You can opt to buy their stake in the business. Or, you can propose an alternative divorce settlement where you provide your former spouse with another asset to offset the value of their stake in your business.
Taking the time to assess what will happen to your business if you undergo a divorce can help to put your mind at ease. When you know what you’re facing, you can work to position yourself in a favorable place. As with all legal matters, it’s advisable to seek legal help from an experienced attorney.