Protecting Business Assets on Relationship Breakdown or Divorce
Expert Legal Support to Safeguard Your Business Interests
Relationship breakdowns, especially divorce/dissolution of civil partnerships, can pose significant risks to business owners.
You may be concerned about:
- Whether day-to-day operations will be impacted and how this can be minimised.
- How much confidential or commercially sensitive information must be shared, and how will it be used?
- How will everyone’s current roles within the business look moving forward?
- How long-term risk is managed, and
- Ultimately, ensuring you as a family have a sustainable business at the end of things.
As an asset, businesses need to be fully understood and considered as part of a financial settlement, like other assets, such as houses, pensions, and investments. This does not necessarily mean that business assets need to be shared. Indeed, in some instances, business assets are entirely ringfenced outside of any financial settlement. Alternatively, business assets can be offset with other assets a couple owns.
Understanding the nature and value of any business asset and how it has been utilised by the family (if at all) is the starting point for determining what should happen. We work with trusted partners to obtain robust valuation advice and consider all the necessary implications, including liquidity, sustainable future income, tax considerations, and the business’s worth.
Our experts will work with you to fully understand your business, support you in protecting your business assets, and ensure a fair settlement with your spouse/civil partner that does not fundamentally damage the company that you have for the future. Our experienced family law team has a proven track record of achieving excellent outcomes for business owners. We understand the complexities of business assets and have been recognised as industry experts for our skills and experience. We provide strategic advice early on and robust representation where this is needed.