If you are a female entrepreneur who owns her own business, you probably have successfully passed many hurdles to your success. But one particular obstacle may have you worried about the viability of your business — divorce.
No one should feel forced to remain in a bad marriage in order to preserve their business ownership. Yet, your business could indeed be at risk for division in a property settlement. What can you do? Read on for some concrete suggestions to put into place to protect your business interests.
Plan ahead before initiating any divorce actions
Before you started your business, you had a business plan. Therefore, before initiating or responding to any divorce litigation, you need to devise a divorce plan.
That begins with assessing and identifying your business assets. Crunch the numbers and make sure that all your business documents are current and in order, as they may come under increased scrutiny in the weeks to come.
Decide on the outcome you want
It’s quite likely that you will decide to fight for full ownership of your business. After all, it’s your bread and butter and you will need an income starting over as a single woman. You must remain open to negotiations. You could be faced with some tough choices: Your business versus your interest in the family home or retirement pensions, for instance.
Assess your spouse’s role in the business
If your spouse was a working partner in the business, his stake will be larger than if he had only a small or non-existent role in its operations. Take stock now so that you will be ready when it’s time to negotiate during the property settlement phase of the divorce.
Consider your options
Could you buy out your spouse’s interest in your business? Continue operating it together post-divorce? Some couples actually are able to make that work. You could also take on a business partner who could provide the capital to buy your spouse out and keep the business viable.
Don’t go it alone
If your very livelihood hangs in the balance, you should never try to negotiate your divorce on your own. You need to follow the advice of your Colorado family law attorney to protect your company and personal interests in the divorce.