Great Business Partners, But Bad Couple?

    So you've decided to divorce your spouse. Only one problem: you're in business together as well. So how do you keep your business operating while you're in the middle of an emotional nightmare? Divorce360.com experts offered these tips to help.

1. Get some help at work.
"Convert the distractions of your divorce into an opportunity to uncover hidden talent in your organization. Learn to delegate more to your management team. As Michael Gerber famously proclaimed -- work on your business rather than in it," said Noah Rosenfarb, a certified public accountant and certified divorce financial analyst, who operates Freedom Wealth Advisors.

Also, "During your divorce, you will have to eliminate some of your daily functions. If you don't already have a job description, create one. Then find lower value tasks you perform and rid yourself of them," Rosenfarb said.

3. Look for working capital alternatives.
"One big problem is if you’ve been depending on a home equity line of credit for working capital, and your soon-to-be-ex freezes that source. So see if you can make a deal with your spouse to continue drawing on that line, or better yet, secure alternate sources of funding (easier said than done in this economy). Also, make sure that you thoroughly discuss any changes you contemplate in the business and get the full cooperation of your soon-to-be-ex," said Ginita Wall, a certified public accountant who educates women about their financial options.

"For example, I have a client whose business is suffering in this economy, so he wanted to lay off several people, give up his office space and operate the business out of his home, and other cost-cutting measures. His soon-to-be-ex saw it as him trying to reduce the value of the business, and pitched a legal fit. It might have gone better if he’d presented his plan to her earlier and solicited her input rather than springing it on her as an almost-done deal," Wall said.

4. Make certain your books are in order. 
"Any of you -- you, your spouse, your partner, his/her spouse -- may want to review these during the course of a divorce. And so your line item accounting of all expenses, receipts, retirement account funding may  be under close inspection, so you’ll want to check with your accountant, attorney and financial advisor for their best advice to prepare for this," said Cynthia Anderson Thompson, owner of Divorce Planning Solutions, a financial services company.

5. Recheck your expenses.
"There may be expenses that your business is covering currently that may need to be altered in light of a divorce. For example, if your small business has been paying the health insurance covering you and your entire family -- and if’ it’s the most cost effective method, make a few calls to you insurance agent. Check with him or her just what it’ll require to keep that arrangement, or if it needs to be changed, what the requirements and limitations and time frames are. Try to get as much of this kind of information early and now so that you may take an informed and proactive stance in divorce negotiations," Anderson Thompson said.