What to do when divorcing your business partner

Going into business with your spouse can be a great idea. Partners in life will make great partners in business too, right? Even if you create a successful business together, what happens if your personal relationship doesn’t work out?

Here are a few different approaches for you and your ex to consider when looking at your business during divorce:

Maintain your professional relationship

Owning a business with an ex can be less than ideal, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make it work. Sometimes, people get divorced and can still remain friends. If that’s you and your ex, you may be able to stay in business together. You will likely need to create specific boundaries and give yourself time to heal before diving back into a professional relationship, but with hard work, you just might be able to keep your business going.

Buy out your ex’s share

If you don’t want to get rid of your business entirely, but don’t want to work together, you could buy out your ex’s part of the business. You will need to get the business appraised and buy them out completely or exchange the business for other assets during your divorce process.

Sell the business

Maybe you’re unable to work together, but also need both parties involved to make the business work. Or, perhaps the business turns out to be just a painful memory from your relationship. It may be time to move on and look into selling the business. You will need an evaluation of your business so that you can know how to list it. Once you find a buyer, you can get ready to close this chapter of your life.

You don’t necessarily have to lose a joint business because of your divorce. However, you and your ex will need to carefully consider the reality of your relationship and if you can keep it professional if you decide to work together.