Dividing a Medical Practice During Divorce

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Dividing a Medical Practice During Divorce If
you are in the process of a divorce, or
considering divorce, one of the largest issues
you will face with your spouse is the equitable
distribution of your assets. If one of you owns
any type of medical practice, the division of
this asset can prove legally challenging. If you
or your spouse owns a doctors office, dentists
office, chiropractors office or any other kind
of medical office, you should take time to
seriously consider the options regarding what is
likely to be the largest asset within your
divorce.
Medical Practice Valuation First, the medical
practice is likely one spouses livelihood. There
are even cases in which the medical practice is
owned and operated by both s pouses. In either
case, the first step must always be to hire a
financial expert to provide an independent
valuation of the medical practice. As with any
business, a valuation will include both tangible
and intangible assets and components of the
business. While property, equipment, materials
and supplies are all valued, so is the
intellectual property and goodwill the business
has established in the community over the years
it has been in business. A valuation expert will
be able to take all financial records and
inventory of assets and make a determination
regarding an overall value of the medical
practice at the current time.
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Open for Business In most cases, the medical
practice is the sole source of income for one
spouse. Therefore, in most cases, that spouse
wants to keep the medical practice open for
business not only during the divorce, but for
many more years to come. Therefore, following the
valuation of the medical practice, a decision
will need to be made by the spouse who has the
medical practice. A complete accounting of all
assets and debts of the marriage will be made,
and the court will make a determination
regarding how much of the business should be
equitably distributed to both spouses. While
the owner of the medical practice could sell it
and divide the assets accordingly, the
likelihood again is that he or she will want to
keep the medical practice open. Therefore, one
spouse will need to buy-out the other spouse
and pay the amount determined in the financial
calculations. If the spouse with the medical
practice is unable to buy-out the other spouse
completely at the time of the divorce, creative
arrangements can be made, including a payment
arrangement. Contact a Divorce Attorney The
equitable division of property is one of the most
critical parts of the divorce process, and you
want to make sure your legal rights are protected
regarding a business it likely took you years to
build. At Giro, LLP, Attorneys at Law, our
lawyers have the experience to effectively
represent clients through the divorce process.
If you are considering filing for divorce and
have a medical practice of any kind, contact our
divorce lawyers today to schedule your initial
consultation and learn how we can help you
throughout the New Jersey divorce process.