Every business is as unique as the people running it and doubly so when you and your spouse build a business from the ground up together. It can mean a lot of pain when it comes time to divide it up when the marriage does not work out.
Some types of business and work are more straightforward than others and it is important to identify how evaluators establish what a business is worth.
Intangible products
Maybe your business is the kind that develops digital assets or creates content for websites. While it demands just as much work as any other business, there is not a lot of machines or property to divvy up. As Mariner Capital Advisors details, one of the most common methods of valuing a business in divorce is through the income approach. By referring to past income and extrapolating into the future, evaluators may have enough data to establish the marital sum of the business.
Brick and mortar assets
In the same way that you divide a car or house in a divorce, the values of your storefront and machinery have a potential value to divide in your divorce that evaluators may also refer to.
Mediation to seek what is fair
While dividing a business is a complicated affair, the last thing you want to be is hands-off about it. If it comes down to a court ruling, neither you nor your spouse may have much of a say in how your business factors into your marital property. In these times, it is important to consider economic mediation as one of the many tools to help the divorce process go smoothly.