When many people get married they don’t think that divorce may also come later on down the road. But with the U.S. Census reporting that in 2009 there were 9.7 divorces for every 1,000 women and 9.2 divorces for every 1,000 men, the truth is that divorce is a process that ends up affecting many Missouri residents.
And while the decision to divorce in many marriages is the right thing to do, it’s important to look into what legal options are available — especially for small business owners — to ensure that the process runs as smoothly as possible.
One software consulting firm owner who divorced in 2003 said that when he was going through the process of divorce, he was pulled away from his work more than he would have liked, and felt that he wasn’t leading his business as much as he once did.
In the end he and his ex-wife ended up reaching a settlement, and the man held on to his business, but the entire process opened his eyes to just some of the time struggles and stress issues that business owners can encounter when going through a divorce.
Fortunately, with a little bit of planning and having the right legal representation, the process of divorce does not need to be painful, and can actually run quite smoothly.
One thing to think about is a “no fault divorce,” which essentially takes the burden out of placing the blame on one person, and instead allows a couple to go their own ways amicably.
Additional, in Missouri, instead of going back and forth and fighting and spending lots of time and money in court, there is also collaborative divorce, which is when each spouse sits down with their own attorney and other experts and talks through the matters and decisions of their divorce settlement.
In general, the basic take away message is that there is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all approach to divorce, and that it’s best to talk to a legal representative about your situation before deciding on which way would be the best to approach your divorce.
Source: Reuters, “Divorce has “immense” impact on small businesses,” Deborah L. Cohen, Sept. 28, 2011
