A divorce isn’t easy when you run a business. You have to make sure that your business is able to survive, or else you need to make smart decisions about closing it. In many cases, businesses are run by both parties involved in the divorce, so there are only a few options for what you can do next.
These options might include continuing to run the business together, selling the business and splitting profits or buying out your partner. Each of these has positive aspects and negative aspects.
1. Running a business together after divorce
The first thing you can consider is running a business together with your ex-spouse after divorce. If you work together well in business but don’t work together well in married life, this can be a solution that helps you continue to get the best out of each other and your business. This usually isn’t a great plan for those with highly volatile divorces, since your divorce could influence your business’s everyday workings.
2. Selling the business
Another option is to sell your business. You can sell the business on to another party, and then you and your spouse can split the proceeds of the sale in whatever way is approved by the court. This solution is good for people who want to close the business and no longer want to work together. It can also be a good way to get more money in the divorce, so that you or your soon-to-be ex-spouse have more money to work with.
3. Buying out your partner
A third option is to agree to pay for your partner’s position in the company and to buy them out. Paying them a fair portion of the business’s value may be enough to get them to sign over their interests to you, so that you can continue to run the business without their influence. This can work well in situations where one person is heavily invested in the business but the other has no interest in continuing to work with it or to participate in business activities.
These are a few options for people who are going through a divorce while running a business. It’s not always easy to know what to do, but if you work with your attorneys and can come to an agreement on if you want to keep the business open or to close it, this can help you resolve your divorce case faster.
