How you divide your personal property will be one of the main considerations in your upcoming Florida divorce. If you have a marital agreement with your spouse, that document might tell you exactly how to split up your biggest assets.
However, many couples don’t sign a prenuptial agreement before getting married or negotiate a postnuptial agreement before filing for divorce. If you don’t already have an agreement with your spouse, you will either need to collaborate and negotiate terms before filing or have a judge review your circumstances and split your property.
Will your business or professional practice be marital property in a Florida divorce that you have to share with your spouse? That depends.
When and how did you acquire the business?
Trying to determine whether your professional practice or small business is marital property or separate property requires that you look at when you first started or acquired the company. If it was during the marriage, then the chances are good that your spouse has at least a partial claim to some of the value represented by the business. If you inherited it from family or owned it before the marriage, it may be separate property.
Under Florida’s equitable distribution law, the income you earn during your marriage and the assets you purchase with that income can be subject to claims by both spouses in a divorce. The court can divide any marital property to reach a fair outcome in the proceedings.
Looking over your financial records for the company can help you conclusively establish whether it is separate property or marital property that you may have to share during the property division process in your divorce.