San Antonio Business Valuation Attorney

San Antonio Business Valuation Lawyer Serving Bexar County

When you get a divorce, you will need to address numerous issues related to your community or separate property. As you continue with the process of ending your marriage, you will want to make sure you will have the necessary financial resources to support yourself in the future. However, if you or your spouse own a business, determining how to divide your marital assets can become more complicated. In addition to ensuring that you will each maintain ownership of assets that are roughly equivalent in value, you may also need to consider how the value of business assets may increase in the future, how to address income that either party earns through a business, and a variety of other important factors.

During the divorce process, it is important to perform a valuation of any business assets you or your spouse own. This will ensure that you fully understand the value of the marital estate, as well as the financial resources available to each spouse based on assets that are not considered community property. At Brandon Wong & Associates, we can ensure that family businesses will be evaluated properly. We can make sure you will have a complete understanding of the financial issues you will need to address, including any decisions you will need to make about the division of complex assets.

Valuation of Business Assets

Business interests can be very valuable assets, and they may represent significant investments of a person's separate assets, a couple's marital assets, and time and effort by both spouses. When making decisions about the ownership of business assets, the first thing a couple will need to understand is whether a business is part of the marital estate. If either spouse founded a new business or acquired an existing business during their marriage, the business will usually be considered community property. However, a business may be excluded from the marital estate if it was founded or purchased using a spouse's separate property, such as an inheritance they received or money they had saved before the couple was married.

Regardless of whether a business is considered to be community property or separate property, it will still be necessary to perform a business valuation. Spouses will need to understand the present monetary value of the business, as well as the likelihood that it will increase in value in the years to come and the potential profit that could be earned from selling the business in the future. Proper valuation of a marital business will ensure that community property can be divided correctly, while valuation of a separately-owned business will help determine the financial resources available to a spouse, which may affect the decisions made about property division, spousal support, or other divorce-related issues.

Several different methods or a combination of multiple methods may be used to determine the value of a business, including:

• Calculating assets and liabilities - In many cases, the simplest way to determine a business's current value is to add up the value of all of its assets, which may include real estate, equipment and supplies, accounts receivable, and intellectual property such as trademarks or patents. Any applicable liabilities, such as business loans or payments owed to vendors, would be deducted from this total to determine the business's value.
• Reviewing income and projecting future growth - More complex calculations may be performed to review a business's finances and gain an understanding of how it may increase in value in the near future. By looking at revenues and profits, contracts that are currently in place, plans for expansion, and other factors, a valuation may determine the expected benefits a spouse can receive by maintaining ownership of business assets.
• Determining market value - By reviewing recent transactions in which similar businesses were purchased or sold, a business owner may be able to estimate the purchase price of their business and determine the profits they would earn if the business were sold. This valuation method may be appropriate in cases where a family business may be sold during the divorce process.

Contact Our San Antonio Business Valuation Lawyers

To learn more about how Brandon Wong & Associates can help you address matters related to family businesses or other business investments during your divorce, contact us at 210-201-3832. You can also submit an online contact form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible to arrange a consultation.