Legal Question in Business Law in Wisconsin

I started a company (full C-Corp) in the early 1990's with my brother and a friend. On start up, we each where issued 100 shares of stock(privatly held) At the time, none of us where married. Since then we have all gotten married. What is the ownership status of our respective spouses, and is it possible we could end up with a ex-spouse as a shareholder in the event of a divorice ?


Asked on 10/09/12, 6:08 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
JAY Nixon nixon law offices

Absolutely, unless your and the other spouses have opted out of the WI Marital Property Act with an enforceable prenuptial or post nuptial opt our agreement, the spouses will have a marital 1/2 interest in your company and its shares. Under a worst case scenario, they could therefore end up becoming shareholders after a split with an owner/spouse. You therefore urgently the assistance of a lawyer with a detailed understanding of creditor/debtor law in a marital property state such as WI. There are many options for protecting the succession of your company to the next generation of owners. My comments here are for public education only and do not make me your attorney. However, you are welcome to contact my office at 262-633-3090 (or see me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com) with further detail. For 15 years of my prior legal writings answering consumer questions, see http://www.lawguru.com/answers/search/attorney/jknixon .

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Answered on 10/11/12, 6:02 am


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