Legal Question in Family Law in Idaho
Is my husband's business considered joint property?
I am separated and going through a divorce. However, my husband wants to come to a settlement that we agree on before we see an attorney. He owns a family business in Idaho and has told me that I have no claim to that business, that his shares in the business were gifts from his father to him alone, and not to me. We have been married for 23 years...and this business was started after we had been married for 10 years. I moved from Missouri to Idaho in order for him to be able to go into business with his family. I want to know if his shares in the business are community property...or indeed sole and separate. Can you help me?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: business - joint property?
If I were you I would not accept your husband's position as gospel. You should consult with an experienced family law attorney. I think this is probably an issue the court will have to decide. An important factor is the length of time of involvement in the business. It seems to me that time was substantial. Good Luck.
Mark Sullivan
Mark R. Sullivan - Attorney at Law
1204 1st Ave. E, Ste. A
Re: division of marital assets
While I am licensed in Tennessee and not Idaho, your question involves more an issue of legal ethics than of community property law as it exists in your state.
No attorney can ethically represent BOTH sides in a divorce.
Let me repeat that NO attorney can ethically represent both sides in a divorce.
If you and your husband agree to terms and go in to an attorney to simply do the paperwork, that attorney will STILL need to represent one of you.... and I am willing to bet it will end up being your husband, because it sounds like your husband is trying to slip things by you.
IF you and your husband do as he has suggested, make SURE you go in to your OWN independent attorney to discuss the matters with him, bringing along a copy of the proposed agreement BEFORE you sign it, and telling YOUR attorney what the financial picture might be.
The law regarding division of marital assets varies from state to state, but in most states a spouse is allowed to keep as SEPERATE property that which the spouse had at the time of the marriage.... HOWEVER if the property increased in value as a result of the spouses efforts DURING the marriage (as is often the case with a family business), then the increased value is a MARITAL asset that must be equitably divided and it is NOT entirely seperate property.
There are also other exceptions to the general rule and ways in which seperate property mutates into marital property during the course of a marriage.... or, as in Tennessee, where the seperat property can be considered as a factor in how to divide the marital estate.
Bottom line -- at the very least TALK with an attorney who will be representing YOUR interests alone on this to get the advice of someone who knows the law of domestic relations in your state, is familiar with how the local judges tend to rule.... and who is interested in protecting you.
Jes Beard
Jes Beard, Attorney at Law
737 Market St., Suite 601
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