Dealing with Family Businesses in Divorce

We wanted to make sure this didn’t escape your attention:

Collaborative Law Institute of Texas board trustee Tracy Stewart, a financial professional and CPA based in College Station, wrote a great article for the AICPA Wealth Management Insider last month entitled “Family Business: Avoiding Divorce Disaster.”

The article details some key dos and don’ts when a family business must be factored into the financial equation for a divorce settlement. This can be a tricky aspect of divorce proceedings, but Tracy, with her Collaborative Law background, brings an expert’s perspective on what the best courses of action are when a couple must deal with a family business during a divorce.

Among the “don’ts” on her list are the following:

Don’t make any big changes during or in contemplation of divorce.

Don’t drain the business.

Don’t cut costs in hiring the business valuation analyst.

Don’t try to influence the business valuation.

Don’t interfere with the conduct of the business.

Here are some “dos” that Tracy recommends for divorces involving family businesses:

Do share critical information with the out-spouse.

Do seek privacy.

Do carefully choose the best divorce model.

To get Tracy’s full details, please go to the original article with the link above. She provides more explanation and comments from other Collaborative practitioners also experienced in dealing with family businesses. Family businesses can be a tremendous asset, but they must be handled very carefully during a divorce. Collaborative divorce is often the best way to maximize the value for both parties.