Issues to Consider Before a Business Divorce

Nobody forms a business partnership with the expectation that it will all fall apart one day in the future. Nonetheless, these dissolutions (or divorces) happen regularly. They are usually caused by factors such as:

• Poor business decisions
• Personal disagreements
• Financial mismanagement
• Owner death or illness, or
• Government intervention

If you are thinking about divorcing your business partner, there are several issues you may want to consider before you move forward, including:

Preexisting Agreements

When you founded your business, you may have signed a document that outlines the processes and procedures you’ll need to follow to dissolve your partnership. If such an agreement exists, it likely contains special provisions governing issues such as:

• Business valuation
• Transfer of interests, and
• Operational control

Preexisting documents of this nature can help to avoid disagreements and speed up the divorce process. If you do not have a preexisting dissolution agreement, your business divorce will likely proceed under the provisions outlined in Florida law.

Asset Ownership

Before moving forward with your business divorce, it’s vital to verify the ownership of assets like:

• Vehicles 
• Real estate 
• Electronics 
• Equipment 
• Office furniture, and 
• Intellectual property 

In many cases, these assets are worth millions of dollars. If they are owned by the organization, they will almost certainly be included in the divorce. However, if the assets are owned privately by your business partner, they may be excluded from the dissolution proceedings.

Personal Relationships

Business divorces are usually emotional affairs. It is not at all uncommon for partners to get into verbal altercations as they work through the long and arduous process. With this information in mind, you should spend some time considering the impact the divorce is likely to have on your personal relationship with your business partner.

If you are related to your business partner or hope to have a positive relationship with them after the divorce proceedings draw to a close, you may want to proceed with caution.

Ready to Proceed with Your Business Divorce?

Now that you have taken some time to think about these issues, are you ready to move forward with your business divorce? If so, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the knowledgeable business litigation lawyers at The Frazer Firm in Jupiter, FL. We understand how to navigate the complex dissolution process, and we are ready to assist you in any way we can.