Legal Question in Business Law in New York

Re: Business

With regard to potential divorce settlements, there is always the possibility that the prevailing non-shareholder spouse can get a judgment that gives him/her access to shares or monies. Hence you should first look to your shareholders' agreement assuming that you are organized as a corporation, to see if there is a section regarding spousal separation. In the best case, your agreement will provide that spousal separation is an instant ground for buyback of the divorced shareholder's shares from the prevailing spouse.

Also with regard to the wife attempting to get access into the inner workings of the company, you may want to see if you can get a confidentiality order in place to protect any business practices from exposure in any public documents.

If you need assistance with the business implications of this situation, please feel free to reach me. I also know an excellent matrimonial attorney if representation on that front is needed as well.

Best,

kaiser

Re: Business

As to your business, the legal implications are reasonably limited. Under New York's equitable distribution law, which, in a divorce, governs the splitting of property and money between a husband and wife, the wife may be entitled to a share of her husband's interest in your business. In order to properly value that interest, her attorneys will likely want some testimony as to how well the business is doing.

It's not much more complicated than that, but, if they're asking for testimony, chances are you'll get a request for documents as well...and quite often, an independent evaluator is hired to assess the value of the company.

If you'd like to discuss this further, please feel free to get in touch.