Business Valuation & Divorce

Protect Yourself with a Birmingham Divorce Lawyer

The divorce process can be difficult to navigate under any circumstances. When one or both spouses own a business, the situation becomes even more challenging. At Shaw Family Law, our Birmingham divorce lawyers have been in the family law business since 1987 and have built a reputation for handling some of the most complex divorce settlements in the area. A big part of what we do is helping clients to properly assess the worth of a family business.

How Does Business Valuation Influence Support Payments?

The amount of child support and/or spousal support that one former spouse owes the other is largely determined by their respective income levels. When one of the spouses owns their own business, it can be hard to accurately establish a monthly salary. Oftentimes, business owners will use business funds to pay their personal expenses and don't take an income at all. This makes it appear as if the business owner has no income and the business is turning less profit than it actually is.

Whether this bookkeeping sleight of hand is done maliciously or not, the results can be much the same. If a proper valuation does not occur, the spouse who does not own the business is likely to wind up with a much smaller share of the marital property than they're legally owed. This can also negatively affect the amount of child support paid for the children.

Business valuation should take into account:

• Tangible property
• Intangible property
• Business debts
• Income
• Expenses
• Depreciation