GLASTONBURY, CONNECTICUT · FAMILY LAW + FAMILY-VIOLENCE DEFENSE
For most business owners the company is the largest asset and the source of the income that will fund any support order. A divorce therefore reaches it twice.
Connecticut’s all-property rule means a business is part of the estate the court can divide — including one started before the marriage, though where it came from and how it grew are weighed.
The company has to be given a value, and reasonable experts disagree. Approaches generally look to income, to market comparables, or to assets, and the choice matters enormously for a small professional practice versus an operating company with real assets.
Recurring fights: whether goodwill is personal to the owner or belongs to the enterprise, what discounts apply to a minority interest, and whether the owner’s compensation is set at a market rate.
If an owner has been taking below-market compensation and leaving value in the company, that affects both the valuation and the income figure used for support. Argue it one way for one purpose and the other way for the other, and it will be noticed.
Rarely by dividing ownership. Far more often by offsetting the other spouse’s share with other assets, or by a structured buyout over time — which raises its own questions about security, interest, and what happens if the business declines.
Partners, co-owners, and employees are not parties to the divorce but can be substantially affected by it. Operating agreements increasingly require owners to maintain marital agreements for exactly this reason.
If you own a business with others and are contemplating marriage or divorce, the agreement question is worth raising early.
Connecticut courts can reach a business or an inheritance in a divorce. What actually protects them, and what only helps.
Read more
How Connecticut divides retirement assets, why a QDRO is a separate order, and the failure that surfaces years later.
Read more
Connecticut divorce attorney Daniel M. Morton explains property division, alimony, and the process in the Hartford Judicial District. Glastonbury office.
Read more
Every case starts with a conversation about what you’re facing and what it would take to handle it.
