As an Illinois business owner, you want to protect what you have worked hard to build. Your business can be at risk if you get married and it ends in divorce. In some cases, the business can be considered part of the marital estate and you can lose up to half of it depending on how a court applies the equitable division factors.
Sign a prenuptial agreement
While marriage is a matter of trust, you should not have to risk your business. You should consider negotiating and signing a prenuptial agreement. This will consider the assets that both you and your future spouse are bringing into the marriage and decide ahead of time what happens to them in the event that you get divorced. The agreement can also determine what your future spouse will do in your business and other topics pertaining to your company.
The importance of a prenuptial agreement
It is understandable that many couples do not want to have these kinds of discussions before marriage. Every couple goes into their marriage with full confidence that it will survive. Talking about even a hypothetical divorce can seem cynical or in bad taste. However, if you own a business, the stakes are simply too high not to have this discussion. There could be drastic financial implications of a divorce that can cost you some control over your own company. You can negotiate an agreement that can work for both sides.
While it does not seem to make sense to see a family law attorney before you even get married, that is exactly how you would draft and negotiate a prenuptial agreement. The attorney could help represent your interests in the negotiation and assist you in reaching an understanding with your future spouse. A prenuptial agreement is a delicate matter given the topic that it involves but an attorney can handle the issue swiftly and tactfully.