Can I Protect My Small Business with an Illinois Prenuptial Agreement?

 Posted on May 06, 2022 in Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

If you are a small business owner getting married in Illinois, you may be so excited and overwhelmed at the prospect of the upcoming wedding and your new life with your partner that you may be neglecting to remember another major part of your life: Your business ownership.

While it may be difficult to imagine your relationship ever going sour, the statistics on divorce speak for themselves. Many business owners have lost all or part of their business in a divorce, effectively flushing years of hard work and personal investment down the drain. While your relationship may always be happy and successful, a prenuptial agreement that protects your business from marital property division is always a good idea. In the best-case scenario, it will sit at the back of a drawer and never be seen again. In the worst-case scenario, it can make the difference between allowing your business to continue thriving and losing everything you have. Here are three ways a prenuptial agreement can help you protect your small business.

Prenuptial Agreements and Small Businesses

While prenuptial agreements cannot regulate interpersonal matters like intimacy or child custody schedules, they are excellent instruments for managing financial matters. A great prenup can help you protect your business in the event of a divorce in many ways, including:

• Assigning the business’s present value - If you plan on sharing your business’s growth with your spouse, it may be difficult to determine exactly how much of your business is marital property and how much of it is personal property in a divorce. Writing the present value of your business in your prenuptial agreement can show that both spouses agreed about the portion of the business that was your personal property when you got married and prevent that portion from being divided in a divorce.
• How you will value the business in your divorce - There are many methods of estimating the value of a business and the method you choose can make a major difference in terms of property division. A prenuptial agreement can establish which method of business valuation you will use later on.
• How much of the business your spouse will be entitled to - Spouses are often crucial factors in the success of a small business because they so often play an enormous role in helping the business’s day-to-day activities move along smoothly. If your spouse will be involved in helping you manage your business, you can both agree to his or her portion of ownership of the business in a divorce.

Schedule a Meeting with a DuPage County Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer

Creating a strong prenuptial agreement is essential for ensuring your business and personal interests are protected in a divorce. Show your spouse you care by preventing future conflict with an enforceable legal agreement written with the help of an experienced DuPage County prenuptial agreement attorney at Andrew Cores Family Law Group. Call us today at 630-871-1002 to schedule your free initial consultation.

Source:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/frawleypollock/2019/07/20/how-a-prenuptial-agreement-can-help-protect-your-business-interests/