Prenuptial Agreements For Small Business Owners

Prenuptial agreements, or prenups, can be very useful to people intending to marry, despite their historical reputation as ‘unromantic’ or ‘clinical.’ These documents are intended to preserve separate property, and to have a plan in place in the event of a life event like death or divorce. One situation where a prenup can be very useful is when one spouse has either a professional license, a small business, or both. This is not unromantic; it is practical.

Can Keep Separate Property Separate

A prenuptial agreement can make several different goals a reality if you and your soon-to-be spouse are on the same proverbial page. Florida’s prenuptial agreement statute is quite broad, allowing two parties to contract about almost anything related to the marriage, from spousal support requests to beneficiary designations in documents like life insurance policies. Only child support is held out as a right that cannot be disposed of in a prenup simply because it is not the spouses’ (the parents of any future child) right to give away; it is the child’s.

Perhaps the most important thing that a prenup can do, however, is to explicitly delineate certain assets as separate property (as opposed to marital property). If you obtained a professional license and/or started a business before your marriage, it is usually possible to specify that both are separate property, though not without certain conditions on the value of the business – namely, that only the pre-marital value of the business is separate.

Post-Marital Business Considerations

While the pre-marital value of the business can remain the property of one spouse (as long as they do not commingle the separate and marital funds!), Florida law generally classifies any post-marital growth as marital property. However, these issues can become extremely complex depending on the degree to which business funds have become marital property to begin with. For example, if your business is at least partly based on your own connections and ability to network, the issue of personal and/or business goodwill must come into any valuation of your business as well as its day-to-day sales.

Generally, it is best to try and address these types of issues before your marriage, but if a couple is already married, it is usually possible to author a post-nuptial agreement that will include the same provisions. It is never too late to try and protect your business and preserve its continuity for yourself and your clients. Florida’s prenup law will also cover most postnuptial agreements, unless the agreement you design is flawed in some other way (for example, if it were coercive or fraudulent).

Contact A Hollywood, FL Pre- & Post-Nuptial Agreement Attorney

Most small business owners have worked hard to build their enterprise up from the ground, and it is understandable for them to want to protect their investment. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement will help them do that, as long as it is drawn up in a way that suits their needs. A Hollywood, FL family attorney from The Law Offices of Steven A. Mason, P.A. may be able to help. Call our office today to speak to an attorney.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.079.html