Got a Business and Divorcing? Think About It.

Not that I ever expected to link to a Lawn & Landscape article but that site published Split Decisions and it is well worth reading:

"Divorce is never Plan A for couples, and discussions of splitting assets 50/50 can put a high premium on the marital institution.

'You start thinking about losing your business, and losing everything – your credibility, your lifestyle, your home, everything,' says Lou Wierichs, president, Pro-X Systems, Appleton, Wis. Wierichs was married 24 years before getting a divorce in 2004. 'It’s scary,' he says simply.

This comes from an industry leader who admits his profits dipped $80,000 the year he spent working through his divorce. 'I had the worst year in business in 15 years,' Wierichs says. The divorce arbitration lasted nine hours and his ex-wife’s attorney scoured 10 years of credit card reports to support a far-fetched argument that Wierichs was making 'beaucoup bucks.'"

A bit longish, but worth the time spent reading but the bottom line for us today is this: business people ought to be consulting a lawyer before filing for divorce. (Of course, I think everyone ought to seek legal counsel before filing for divorce). The article explains better by example of why.