Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

Question:

My wife had an interest in a family limited partnership when we got married. We formed a new partnership with our children as limited partners. I was not put in the new partnership though I have done most of work in the business. Now that we are divorcing she says I did nothing for all those years and that she shouldn't owe me anything. What do I do? How do I prove I was an integral part of the business?

By Jennifer M. Paine

Attorney, Cordell & Cordell, P.C., Detroit office

Note: This is Part 3 of a three-part series on dealing with your business in divorce. Click here to read Part 1 and click here to read Part 2.

If you are a small business owner, dealing with your business in your divorce could send you spinning into a scene from Little Shop of Horrors.

Except, instead of a carnivorous plant reeking havoc on your business, your attorney and your soon-to-be-ex could be crying “Feed Me!” Cash, that is, and lots of it.

How can you avoid this scene and deal with your business effectively? Here are some suggestions.

By Jennifer M. Paine

Attorney, Cordell & Cordell, P.C., Detroit office

Note: This is Part 2 of a three-part series on dealing with your business in divorce. Click here to read Part 1 and click here to read Part 3.

If you are a small business owner, dealing with your business in your divorce could send you spinning into a scene from Little Shop of Horrors.

Except, instead of a carnivorous plant reeking havoc on your business, your attorney and your soon-to-be-ex could be crying “Feed Me!” Cash, that is, and lots of it.

How can you avoid this scene and deal with your business effectively? Here are some suggestions.

By Jennifer M. Paine

Attorney, Cordell & Cordell, P.C., Detroit office

Note: This is Part 1 of a three-part series on dealing with your business in divorce. Click here to read Part 2 and click here to read Part 3.

If you are a small business owner, dealing with your business in your divorce could send you spinning into a scene from Little Shop of Horrors.

Except, instead of a carnivorous plant reeking havoc on your business, your attorney and your soon-to-be-ex could be crying “Feed Me!” Cash, that is, and lots of it.

The family business is often the largest marital asset. Worse, family business owners usually pour their savings into their businesses and secure business loans against their own property or guarantee.

When divorce looms, one spouse develops SBLS (Sudden Business Losses Syndrome) and the other spouse develops SITS (Sudden Ivana Trump Syndrome). That is, one spouse thinks the business is worth nothing and the other a whole lot of something.

They reach a stand-off and fight back-and-forth over whose value is “right” until one spouse caves in or their judge picks a value at, what seems to be, random. No one wins, except the attorneys and their pocketbooks.

How can you avoid this scene and deal with your business effectively? Here are some suggestions.

by Joseph Cordell, JD, CPA, LL.M

In this episode, Joseph Cordell discusses the role of businesses in serving as a tool to protect your assets.  From our video series, Cache Counsel: Executive Asset Protection. Click "Read More" to see the video.