Is My Spouse Entitled To Half Of My Business?

Ending a marriage can cause changes to many areas of your life. If you’re heading toward divorce, then you will likely have questions concerning how it is going to impact you financially. You have probably seen stories in the news of a spouse losing substantial amounts of money and property in the divorce settlement. But what you may not know is that divorce does not always end in financial ruin. There are many factors controlling how property is divided in a divorce, and many settlements are done by agreement. Here’s more on the division of property in a divorce and how it can affect your business.

What Is Marital Property?

In Oklahoma, the law says that all marital property is owned equally by you and your spouse. Marital property is all property that you acquired during the marriage. Still, there are exceptions. Any property that you acquired before your marriage is not marital property and cannot be given to your spouse through a divorce. But also, gifts, inheritance, and legal settlements to one spouse are not considered marital property and are generally not subject to division in a divorce.

How A Divorce Can Affect Your Property And Business

It is important that you understand that if you and your spouse are on good terms, then you may be able to come up with an agreement on how your marital property is going to be split up. A judge will still need to approve your agreement, but generally, you and your spouse are free to produce an arrangement on your own.

But if you and your spouse do not agree, then you will need a judge to decide on how the marital property will be divided. The law says that when deciding on how to split up marital property, it must be done fairly. This does not necessarily mean 50/50. In fact, in many cases, the court will enter an order that gives one spouse considerably more than the other. Many factors go into how the court will divide marital property, and it is impossible to predict what a judge will do in your specific case.

Still, your spouse may be entitled to half of your business if it is considered marital property. Again, marital property is all property that was acquired during the marriage, excluding things that were directed to one spouse only, like gifts, inheritance, and legal settlements.

In other words, your spouse may be entitled to a portion of your business if you started it or it grew during your marriage. In those cases, unless there is an agreement, the court will come to a decision on how to divide the marital property based on some of the following factors:

• How the property was used;
• The value of the property;
• The ability of each spouse to support themselves after the marriage;
• The presence of children.

One final thing worth noting is how a prenuptial agreement will affect the division of marital property. A prenuptial agreement is a written contract between two people before they get married. It generally outlines how property will be distributed in a divorce. If you have a prenup and you included a provision on how your business will be treated during a divorce, then you may be protected from it being split up by the court. Still, for it to be enforced by the court, a prenup must be considered valid, which means it will need to have been done in accordance with state law.

Contact an Oklahoma Divorce Lawyer Today

For more information on how an Oklahoma divorce might affect your properties or businesses, you should be in contact with a family law attorney. With over 17 years of experience, Inner Vision Legal is rated as one of the best divorce law firms in Oklahoma. Our firm will analyze your situation and provide you with valuable guidance. Contact the skilled divorce attorney at Inner Vision Legal by calling (405) 724-2525 or contacting us online.