310-552-3500
Land Legal Group is dedicated to providing high-quality legal services throughout Los Angeles and surrounding areas, including Little Tokyo, Old Chinatown, Naud Junction, New Chinatown, Aliso Village, Mission Junction, Taylor Junction, Angelino Heights, Pico Gardens, Brooklyn Heights, Glendale Junction, Butte Street Junction, Dayton Avenue, Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, Wyvernwood, and Saint James Park. With a deep understanding of the unique cultural dynamics and legal needs of each neighborhood, we are committed to providing compassionate and effective legal representation to our clients.
At the Land Legal Group, our Los Angeles family law attorneys know that nearly every aspect of our California clients’ lives changes during their divorces.
One of the major changes includes the future of your business ownership.
If one of you is the owner of a successful small business that was not protected using a trust or by creating and signing a prenuptial agreement with your spouse, the company may be considered community property during the divorce proceedings.
Here is what you need to know about owning a business during a divorce.
Community Property Rules Apply to Most Assets During a California Divorce
If you started or acquired a small business during your marriage, your spouse may have a partial interest in the company under California community property laws.
Judges dividing marital assets will want to equitably distribute the business interests under those laws.
However, if you used your separate property — which could be money you saved before the marriage or inherited during the marriage — to open and operate the business, you could claim part of its value as your separate property in the divorce.
If you inherited the business itself, it could be deemed separate property altogether.
How Can I Protect My Small Business During a California Divorce?
If you did not protect your business interests through a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement that designated the business as one spouse’s individual property and/or outlines how the business will be handled during a divorce or separation, we may be able to help.
Talk with our skilled Los Angeles family law attorney about your legal rights and options to retain the majority ownership of the company by ensuring the business valuation is fair.
What is a Business Valuation?
One of the most important aspects of maintaining your company during a divorce is ensuring that you receive a fair and accurate valuation for your business.
That includes an overall accounting of the costs and liabilities to operate it, not just the value of an asset or its revenue.
When the business is not properly appraised, you could risk losing it during the divorce proceedings.
You may be able to offer your spouse something else of value rather than an ownership interest in the business once you have established a fair market value for the company.
If you want to protect your business during property division proceedings of a California divorce, we can provide the legal insight you need to make informed decisions during the divorce, so you can maintain the company you have worked so hard to build.
Contact the Land Legal Group Family Law Attorneys in Los Angeles Today
Contact our skilled divorce attorneys in Los Angeles County at the Land Legal Group today at (310) 552-3500 to schedule a free consultation to discuss your unique needs and to learn how we can help.
