UPFRONT | 919
QUESTIONS ABOUT BUSINESS AND DIVORCE? By CATHY C. HUNT Special to 919 Magazine
HOW CAN BUSINESS OWNERS PROTECT
I HAVE BEEN COMMUNICATING WITH A ROMANTIC
THEIR BUSINESS, IF THEY OR A BUSINESS
INTEREST ON MY WORK EMAIL AND PHONE. CAN
PA R T N E R G E T D I V O R C E D ? A common problem that business owners make is naming a spouse as an owner who doesn’t really work in the business. Difficult operating issues arise if spouses divorce and a non-involved spouse has rights as an owner to the books, records, and bank accounts. For example, in a divorce case, a husband and wife were 50/50 shareholders in a business although the wife did not work in the business. When there was a domestic dispute, the company came to a complete standstill, because the wife used her rights as an equal share-holder to access assets in the business. The parties spent substantial funds in court trying to gain control of the company. Meanwhile, the company was in complete deadlock. The best way to protect a business from a potential divorce is to only name as owners those that are genuinely involved in the business. Another protection that business owners can put in place is to have a buyback provision in their corporate agreements to retain control of shares if an owner gets divorced and to provide the price at which the shares may be purchased.
THIS INFORMATION BE OBTAINED BY MY SPOUSE
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919 Magazine
IN A DIVORCE? Yes, if either spouse files a lawsuit with allegations of adultery, they can request emails, text messages, and phone records from the other spouse through a process called discovery or from a business by subpoena. A spouse may also issue a subpoena to a company to take possession of electronic devices for copying or to require the company to produce emails, texts, and phone records. If you don’t want your company dragged into your personal divorce, don’t use a work email or device for non-work purposes.
www.919Magazine.com
March/April 2020
