What are the best strategies to protect your business during a San Diego divorce? Will your company be a part of the community property settlement or will it be classified as “separate” property? These are crucial questions for any business or professional practice owner who is considering a divorce. Generally speaking, if you owned your business prior to the marriage (and marital funds were not used to support the business in any way) it will probably be classified as separate property. You will continue to completely own your interest in the business after the divorce.
If you started or acquired the company during the course of your marriage, it will in all likelihood going to be considered a community asset. You will need to work with our experienced and proven Certified Family Law Specialists to protect your position in this asset and preserve operations and future profitability during the course of your divorce.
One issue is the amount you are paying yourself as a salary. It is not unusual to take a lower salary in order to minimize taxes or to leave more capital with which to build your business. However, this may result in a devaluation of your value to the company and a skewed perspective when it comes time to separate your former spouse’s community interest.
It will be important to obtain a sound valuation to protect your business during a San Diego divorce. The valuation is the basis for determining the value of your former spouse’s community interest in the company. Their community interest is usually offset through other assets. We work with our clients to negotiate a settlement which uses equity in the family home, savings and investment accounts as well as retirement accounts to offset the community interest in the business. It is often possible to negotiate payments over time to compensate your former spouse for their interest in the business.
Burke & Domercq has decades of experience in Carlsbad divorces with business interests. We work to protect your business during your divorce while achieving other goals and objectives which are important to you.
Learn more about how to protect your business during a San Diego divorce 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.