Property rights are always a contentious issue in a divorce. If you have a family business, chances are you and/or your spouse have dedicated a lot of time, energy, and assets to it over the years. In the event of a divorce, everything you’ve worked so hard to build could be in jeopardy.

Different business property rights will apply depending on whether the business and its assets are considered communal or separate property. If the business is considered communal property, it might be split, and even if the business was started by one spouse before the marriage, never financed with communal funds, and is considered separate property, it could still be liquidated in order to pay an expensive divorce settlement. The best way to learn exactly what options may be available to you for handling your business property in a divorce is to set up a free consultation with Torrence L Howell. Torrence L Howell is a divorce attorney with a background in business, so he’s ideally suited to explain and defend your business property rights.

Meanwhile, here are three possible scenarios for what might happen to your business in a divorce.

Court-Ordered Buyout

If the business depends heavily on the hard work, knowledge, and skills of one spouse, a divorce court usually awards the rights to the business to that spouse. They will then be required to buy out the other spouse’s share. In order to ensure that a fair price is set for the buyout, a forensic accountant will be called upon to provide a valuation.

Business Asset Liquidation

Unfortunately, when most of a couple’s assets are tied up in a business, these assets may have to be liquidated in order to pay the divorce settlement or to keep up with alimony or child support obligations. A skilled divorce attorney can help you resist efforts to access business assets in a divorce and protect your business property rights.

Equal Ownership Rights

If both spouses want to continue being involved in the business, it is of course possible to give each spouse an equal ownership share. The business can continue to operate as normal, except instead of the proceeds going into a joint bank account they’ll be shared equally by the two divorced spouses. This type of agreement typically works best when the business was started after the marriage, when both spouses have traditionally participated equally in the running of the business, and when the divorce is amicable enough for a successful professional relationship to be possible.