Many people set up businesses in partnership with someone else, and many times, the person they do so with is their spouse. It can be a great option, as you get to spend more time together and share the fruit of your labors.
What happens, then, if you decide to divorce? Will the end of the marriage mean the end of the business? Not necessarily.
You could continue to run it together
Some couples split up but continue working together. If you go for this option, be sure to revise your existing partnership agreement or put one in place if you don’t already have one. You’ll need to think about roles, responsibilities, the decision-making balance and the financial split, just as you would with any business partner.
One of you could become a silent partner
If working together would be problematic, one of you could step back and become a silent partner — just maintaining some shares to continue benefiting from the work they put into building the company. You would need to consider how you would handle things if the silent partner felt the other person did not do a good job going forward, as any failures on their part would affect their income, too.
Selling up
One of you could buy the other one out. Perhaps you could build it into the property division process, with the other spouse taking other assets to compensate them. Alternatively, you could both agree to put the business up for sale, enabling you to cut your business ties as well as your personal ones.
Whichever option you go for, you need to get the legal paperwork right, so appropriate guidance is wise.