Buena Park Business Owners Divorce Lawyer

Buena Park Business Owners Divorce Attorney

With its proximity to sparkling beaches, Disneyland, and Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park is a great place to stay while visiting Southern California. The yearly influx of tourists is also great for local business owners. Even in such a diverse and convenient location, running a business takes hard work and long hours. If your business is threatened by divorce, a Buena Park business owners divorce lawyer will advocate for your goals.

Minyard Morris: Your Steadfast Advocate in Business Owners Divorce Cases

When you’ve worked hard to build a successful business, you need to hire a business owners divorce lawyer to protect your assets during a divorce. At Minyard Morris, our team has over 350 years of combined experience in fighting for our clients’ satisfaction. We’ve spent years building relationships with the Orange County courts. Our local knowledge allows us to better serve your goals and interests.

With strong negotiation and litigation skills, we assist you with your divorce proceedings. We believe in a collaborative approach through three weekly strategy meetings to discuss our cases. This approach means that unique aspects of your case are reviewed by our lawyers and at our strategy meetings while you also receive one-on-one attention from your dedicated attorney. We are proud members of the Family Law Section Executive Committee of the California State Bar.

Buena Park Business Owners

In 2024, Buena Park had a total population of 81,248. This included:

• 45,998 total labor force
• 34,348 total employees
• 31% blue collar
• 68% white collar

There was a total of 3,175 businesses, with a breakdown of:

• 66% had 1-4 employees
• 79% had 5-9 employees
• 28% had 10-19 employees
• 56% had 20-49 employees
• 72% had 50 or more employees

Defining Property Types

How your business is handled during a divorce may depend on the type of business it is and it’s character. During the divorce process, all your property and debts are divided based on how they are characterized. California courts recognize several different types of property:

• Separate property. Assets and debts that were acquired before the marriage began or after the official separation are separate property. Gifts or inheritances acquired during the marriage are generally considered separate property. Separation begins once one spouse expresses a clear desire to get divorced or separate and then takes steps toward that goal.
• Community property. Assets and debts obtained during the marriage are generally considered community property. Even assets and debts acquired without the other person’s knowledge are considered community property and subject to being divided.
• Quasi-community property. Assets and debts accumulated during the marriage, but while one or both spouses were living outside California, are considered quasi-community property. The court system treats quasi-community property the same as community property when dividing assets.
• Commingling property. Some assets and debts acquired before the marriage could be considered part-separate and part community property.

If you agree to a division of assets out of court, you and your spouse can decide how your assets and debts are divided. If the judge determines their distribution, separate property is retained by each spouse, respectively, while community property is divided equally.

Valuing a Business During a Divorce

Having a professional valuation of your business is important when submitting the required financial disclosure documents. If the business is valued too low, your spouse may have additional claims to the business, and you may face penalties if the court feels that you intentionally hid the true value. This is why engaging a forensic accountant is often a critical step for ensuring a transparent and defensible valuation.

Before choosing how to determine the value of your business, see determine how the business is characterized. It may be:

• Community property if it was purchased or started after the marriage began. Even if the business itself is not community property, the income earned during the marriage generally is considered community property.
• Separate property if the business was purchased or started before the marriage began or after the separation occurred.

A skilled Buena Park business owners divorce attorney will determine which type of property the business is considered. If it is commingled, they can tell what percentage of the business would be deemed either separate or community property.

Having a professional valuation of the business is important to ensure an accurate division of assets. Valuation methods include the following:

• The income approach considers past earnings and the profitability of the business. Having a reasonable personal salary provided by the business can also affect asset division.
• The market approach examines similar businesses in the area that have recently sold. This method theoretically determines the value of the business if it were to be sold.
• The asset approach assesses the total value of all the tangible and intangible assets of the business while considering all debts and liabilities the business might face.

Methods of Dividing Business Assets

Once you have determined the value of the business, you can begin the process of dividing the marital assets equally, per the state’s laws. Several methods may be used to reach a fair agreement, including:

• Asset offset. You retain the business while your spouse receives different assets of equal value.
• Buyout. You buy out the value of the business from your spouse so you retain full ownership.
• Shared ownership. You and your spouse both retain some percentage of ownership in the business.
• Selling. You sell the business and split the proceeds equally.

The method you choose can have vastly different tax implications, which is a central concern in any high-net-worth divorce involving a business.

Hire a Business Owners Divorce Lawyer

Going through a divorce is rarely simple. With Minyard Morris, you have a team of divorce attorneys who pride themselves on their high levels of professionalism, ethics, and integrity. Our client-centered approach prioritizes your goals. Contact Minyard Morris today for a confidential consultation.