Divorce Issues for Business Owners

For more than four decades, Hoover & Bechtel, L.L.P., has been successfully representing clients in divorce and other family law matters. One issue that commonly arises in a divorce is the valuation and division of a business. Divisible business interests include Sole Proprietorships, Partnerships, and various forms of Corporations both privately held and publicly traded.

In determining how to fairly divide a business, an important question is how to value the business. Even in those cases in which both parties agree who should be awarded the business, they will often disagree on the value of the business.

In divorce cases involving a business, the attorneys at Hoover & Bechtel routinely retain financial experts who provide reports and testimony (if needed) about the value of the business. It is not unusual for each party to retain an expert on their behalf. The experts for each party may have significantly different opinions about the value of the business interests.

When parties involved in a divorce retain expert witnesses who provide different business valuations, the skill of the attorneys involved in the case is an important factor as to the final valuation. Hoover & Bechtel retains highly regarded financial experts on behalf of our clients. Our many years of experience allow us to effectively discover faults in the opposition's business valuations.

Complex issues must be considered in determining how to achieve a fair division of a community estate that includes business interests. In some instances, the success of a business is dependent almost entirely on the reputation and hard work of an individual. If the only value of the business is the hard work and capability of one individual, the business must be treated differently than a business whose value is derived only from its assets. For example a stockholding corporation or a real estate investment trust will derive most of its value from its assets.

Due to our thorough approach to preparing for each case as if it will go to trial, and due to our reputation as skilled trial lawyers, we are able to resolve most cases through settlement agreements that protect our clients' financial rights and financial futures. Although our firm has earned a reputation throughout the Bay Area as aggressive and accomplished litigators, a high percentage of our divorce issues end in a settlement, sparing our clients the time and expense of a trial.

To contact a family law attorney at our San Jose, California, office, contact us.

With offices located in San Jose, CA, the family law attorneys of Hoover & Bechtel, L.L.P., serve clients throughout the Bay Area and Silicon Valley in Northern California. We routinely represent clients in the 11 Bay Area counties and beyond including Santa Clara County, Monterey County, Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Santa Cruz County, San Mateo County, San Benito County. Many of our clients are located in the cities of San Jose, Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Fremont, Milpitas, Palo Alto, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Santa Cruz, Los Altos, Monte Sereno, Woodside, Menlo Park, and Atherton.

Hoover & Bechtel, LLP | 1570 The Alameda, Suite 101 | San Jose, CA 95126