You’re proud of the family business that you’ve built up over the years. As a business owner, you’ve put a lot of your time and energy into that company. It’s more than just your source of income.
If it was just about money, you’d be interested in selling the business during your divorce. You know that you and your spouse own it together and so it has to be divided with your marital assets. But since you have this deep personal connection to the company, you want to keep working there. Are there any ways that you can do this while you get divorced?
Will your ex sell their share?
One question to ask is simply if your ex will sell their share of the business. They may sell to you directly if you get a business loan, or they may be willing to trade assets. For instance, maybe the two of you also own a vacation property. Your ex could take the vacation home, you could keep the business, and you could both move forward with your lives.
Would you be willing to work together?
Another potential option is just working together with your ex, even after the divorce. This is possible and, from a legal standpoint, there’s no requirement for you to sell your business. It’s still fair property division if you both remain co-owners. It just depends if you and your ex are on good enough terms to work together. If you are, you can create a partnership agreement and become business partners, even after the end of the marriage.
As you can see, there are some options to achieve your goals during a divorce. Just be sure you know what steps to take as you consider what would be best in your unique situation.