Whenever a divorce case involves the ownership and operations of one or more Business Entities, things can become complicated very quickly.  Depending upon the circumstances in your case, a business evaluation expert may be required to analyze and provide their expert opinion as to the value of the business.  Additionally, determining how the business will be maintained and operated during the divorce often requires immediate court intervention.  The Divorce Lawyers at Nick Davis Law have extensive business litigation experienced and are ready to advise you on the best procedures for handling your business divorce.  It can’t be over emphasized that you should retain the services of an experienced business divorce attorney as the strategy for your divorce will vary depending upon your connection with the business. If you own, operate and seek to retain the business after divorce, your strategy will be drastically different from the spouse that does not own or operate the business but who wants to maximize the value of the business to receive a large distribution of the estate or assert a reimbursement claim against the business.

Nick Davis Law offers all prospective Business Owner Divorce clients a Free Case Evaluation by phone or virtual conference as well as payment plans.  Contact our office at (936) 262-7474.

How are Businesses Valued in a Divorce?

The first thing to determine in a divorce involving a business, is whether the business is community property or separate property.  Once this is determined, the next step is to conduct a business evaluation which is normally done by an expert with business and divorce litigation experience, such as a CPA that has experience preparing expert reports and testifying in Divorce Actions.

There are Three Methods to determining a Value to a Business:

• Market Valuation
• Income Valuation
• Asset Valuation

Business Good Will is also another are to consider when valuing a business.  Business Good Will is usually considered the value the business has apart from its assets, that is, its reputation and name recognition.  However, it is important that your Divorce Lawyer has the experience to argue whether some or all of the Business Good Will value pertains to “Personal Goodwill” or “Professional Goodwill” which is typically worthless apart from the person or professional and is deemed to be their separate property so to speak since it can’t be separated from the person. For instance, a Lawyer, Doctor, or Accountant’s Personal Goodwill is usually attributed to that individual and cannot be bestowed on the business unless that individuals continues working for the business.  However, the name recognition and reputation of the business is typically considered Community Property and can factor into the value of the Marital Estate. 

To Learn More about your how our experienced Divorce Lawyers can help business owners in a divorce in Montgomery, Harris, Grimes, Waller, Walker, Brazos, Washington & Surrounding Counties
contact our Divorce Lawyers in The Woodlands, TX and Bryan | College Station to develop a strategy that benefits your interests in the divorce.