Divorcing a spouse can be complicated. Divorcing your business partner on top of that can be even more so.
There are many technical aspects you must address if you wish to keep your business operating despite the divorce. However, here are two overarching issues you must address in these situations.
1. Your relationship
Perhaps you cannot continue as a married couple – but will that affect your ability to continue as business partners? To some level, you must be able to separate your personal life from your professional life if you want to continue running a business with your ex-spouse after divorce. You must generally be able to:
- Continue to communicate effectively
- Set emotions aside
- Work together
If you both agree to end the marriage and the separation is amicable, you may have a higher chance of collaborating as business partners in the future. If there was significant conflict at the end of your marriage, running the business together may not be an option for the future.
2. The feasibility
No business owner wants to close their doors for good. However, you must consider if it is truly possible to keep the business operating successfully after the divorce before moving forward.
This is one reason why it is so critical to carefully evaluate the previous point – your professional relationship compared to your personal relationship. Evaluating whether or not it is feasible to keep the business running may also require you to:
- Review and revise business agreements
- Determine how to continue managing the business
- Reevaluate each of your roles in the business
Wanting to keep your North Carolina business running and successfully doing so are two different things. Therefore, you must think carefully about whether or not it is possible or sustainable to continue the business together.