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Are You Concerned about Saving Your Company in a San Diego Divorce?

On Behalf of | Oct 17, 2021 | Professional Practice & Business Ownership

Are you concerned about saving your company in a San Diego divorce?  Are you worried about how to protect your business and best prepare for a coming divorce?  This is why you need the proven advice and counsel of the Certified Family Law Specialists at Burke & Domercq.  There are many things you can do to protect your business and preserve all you’ve worked so hard to build.  There are also things you can do which can actually harm your own interests, and in some cases cost you the business itself.

The first question will be “is the business a community asset, a separate asset or a blend of the two?”  If you purchased or started your business prior to the date of your marriage and have not used any marital funds or labor to support the company in any way during the course of the marriage your business will probably set aside as your own separate property.

If the business was started or acquired after the date of marriage and before the date of separation it will almost always be considered as community property.

If you are concerned about saving your company in a San Diego divorce you should make sure you are maintaining accurate, comprehensive records.  Make sure you are paying yourself a fair and reasonable salary as this will affect many things from the valuation of your company to the income considered during the calculation of spousal and child support.  Any attempt to hide assets, disguise income or otherwise mislead the Court will result in substantial sanctions (read: heavy financial penalties) from the Court.  There have been many divorce cases in California where the business owner has lost their company to a former spouse a result of their own poor decisions and actions.  Take the high road but seek the advice and counsel of attorneys who have handled these cases for decades.

When you are concerned about saving your company in a San Diego divorce you should give serious consideration to other community assets you can offer to offset your former spouse’s interest in the business.  It may be very possible to arrange to make payments over the course of time to compensate your former spouse.  They will want you to be able to keep as much of your income as possible as the issues of child support and spousal support come into play.  You may need to consider bringing in investors or even selling a small piece of your company to your employees through a stock ownership plan in order to raise the amount needed to buy out your former spouse.

Ask our Certified Family Law Specialists about the process of valuation and the steps you can take to protect your business interests if you are concerned about saving your company in a San Diego divorce.

Protect your own interests and contact us or call 760-389-3927 to schedule an appointment for a remote or socially distanced consultation with one of our experienced Certified Family Law Specialists.

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