The divorce clients at Anchor Family Law often have complicated assets that include businesses such as retail shops, professional practices, small factories, service providers, and many others. A Massachusetts divorce requires the couple to divide their debts and assets equitably. People come to our law firm for help with evaluating their businesses and protecting their interests during the process of property division.

Why You Need a Skilled Attorney for Business Evaluation

Divorce is always messy. But when you add a business to the mix of assets and debts that must be divided, things can become even more complicated very quickly. Our Seekonk legal team has the knowledge and experience to determine the value of a business and recommend the best way to divide that value. We also have access to a network of business evaluators, forensic accountants, appraisers, private investigators, and other specialists who can determine value, find hidden assets, and recommend ways to handle the business after divorce.

Issues in Business Evaluation and Division

Some of the issues our lawyers encounter include:

• When and who started the business? In order to be considered marital property in the Commonwealth and subject to property, it should have begun (or significantly increased in value) during the marriage
• Whether the business is profitable and how changes in leadership might affect that profitability
• Whether an outside business evaluator or other specialist is needed to determine the company’s value
• Whether there is a need to hire a private investigator to find hidden assets, income, liabilities and debts, tax credits, and other factors that might affect the profitability of the business going forward
• Whether a business should be dissolved, sold, or bought out by one of the divorcing parties
• Whether there is a prenuptial agreement that protects the business from property division in the event of divorce
• Whether a business needs to file for bankruptcy protection
• Whether the best approach for calculating the value of the business involves calculating the assets and liabilities, comparing it with similar businesses in the area, or determining how much income it produces

Different Outcomes for Massachusetts Businesses During Divorce

Every business is different. So is every divorce. This means that there are many outcomes when a business is evaluated and included in marital property for equitable division. Some of the more common outcomes include:

• Liquidate the business and divide the proceeds between the two parties. This involves selling the inventory and paying the debts, leaving a dollar amount to be divided between the spouses.
• Divide the business between the spouses. This may be the best option when both spouses have a significant stake in the business and can either continue operation under a different entity, or adjust the product line, areas of distribution, and other factors to distinguish the spin-off from the original business.
• One party buys out the other and continues to operate the business. That purchasing party becomes the sole owner of the company, absent new partners.

These are just a few of the issues that arise during a divorce-related business evaluation. Our Seekonk attorneys at Anchor Family Law have both the experience and resources to obtain a fair and equitable division of property, including the division of a business after an in-depth business evaluation.

Call our Bristol County legal team at Anchor Family Law for a free consultation about business evaluation during divorce. Telephone 508-557-1138 or contact us online to schedule an appointment.