When Small Business Owners Divorce

Dividing a couple’s assets during a divorce can often be contentious, but additional complications exist if the parties are one of the over 999,000 small business owners in Pennsylvania. According to the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center, 99.91 percent of businesses in Lackawanna County were small businesses in 2013. Therefore, it is inevitable that divorce will affect some of these people during the course of their business ownership.

If both spouses own the business, deciding what to do with the business after the divorce may be a difficult decision. The role of each spouse in the business will have to be taken into consideration, and the couple must evaluate if the business can go on without one of them. More often than not, former spouses continuing to work together is simply not a viable option.

According to CBS News, the best option may be for one spouse to buy out the other spouse’s interest in the business. This will require a detailed valuation of the business in order to determine the exiting spouse’s share. It may be necessary for the spouse keeping the business to cede other marital assets in order to cover the appropriate share of the business.

If no agreement between the parties can be reached, or the business cannot continue without the participation of both spouses, there is another option. The business can be sold outright and the proceeds can be split between the spouses. While it may be difficult to give up the business both people worked to establish, this is likely a better option than resorting to expensive and drawn-out litigation.

Does this sound familiar? If you are small business owners and facing a similar dilemma and need legal assistance, the divorce attorney at Kalinoski Law Offices is prepared to take on your case. Contact our office in Scranton today to learn more about your legal needs.

Tags: Division of Property

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