In response to Peachy, someone had suggestions on this. I need to value my H's business for the settlement.
H had his lawn/landscape business prior to our M, but I worked extensively in the business during our M, while I also worked FT and raised the children. Any guidance would be appreciated. I'm seeking 1/2 of the appreciated value of the business and the assets purchased during the M. He poured a great deal of money into the business during our M.

Excellent topic Newly.

Generally, here's how it works:
- You get a lawyer.
- He gets a lawyer.
- Your lawyer values the business at $100 trillion dollars.
- His lawyer declares his business bankrupt.
- You go back and forth.
- Eventually, you will reach a settlement outside of the lawyers because this process will drag on FOREVER.

Most lawyers drool over small business divorces. It means lots and lots of a money. A $5,000 divorce can turn into $20,000 of "discovery" fees. Fortunately for the spouse of the biz owner, the burden of proof (and therefore) legal fees is on the biz owner.

The real leverage of pursing division of business assets is primarily strategic and you should consider it your "ace in the sleeve" to get something you really really want... like more money, a more favorable to you settlement, total custody of hte kids, increased child support, etc. The connection is that as the spouse of the owner, it was your support and behind the scenes love that made it so the biz owner could be a biz owner. As such, if the business owns 2 computers... you are "technically" entitled to 1 of those computers.

You don't want that though. You want the strategic advantage of being able to remove the divorce from a personal level to a business one where cold hard dollars ALWAYS RULE.

Your spouse will be shocked and appalled that you are doing this, and that's where the strategic value comes in. The most likely reactions fall into 2 categories:
- Protect the business. They'll do this by incurring debt, shunting assets around (like to other small business owners), deferring salary, etc.
- Go after you. They'll try to use the business's assets to "fight you off". This is fine. The burden of proof is on the business after all.

At any time, you can sue the business in both cases for supporting your spouse's attempt to defraud. In corporate law, there is no innocent till proven guilty. Courts see this happen all the time with small biz owners in a divorce and will probably sympathize with you from the start. As such, the burden of proof is on them... the cost of that burden almost always will drive the biz owner to a 1 on 1 settlement. When that happens, know what you want (the strategic value) and go for it.

I'd also like to add that I'm a small biz owner. I built a consulting firm with a friend. My stbxWW went after my business. I was able to defend it. It was the only dream I had that her affair didn't touch and stain in some way. My business is my baby; it's my brain child.

There are a number of ways to value a business...

First, he had put some assets into the business before marriage...those are his, but if he had a bunch of mowers that wore down over time, and were replaced with new ones paid for by both of you, obviously his share prior to the marriage depreciated to nearly nothing. Don't let him convince you that a $500 dollar piece of equipment bought before the marriage is still worth $500.

That said, you should probably be able to get half of the business assets (equipment, cash, etc.). However, you also should take on about half of the liabilities as well. If you can agree on a net value for the business, you can have him buy out your share in cash, equipment, or some sort of payment plan if cash is low.

Another way to value a business is the future value of your cash flows. If the business takes in a certain amount of profits per year, be reminded that there is a price to pay for the future earnings of a business. It's difficult to measure, but something to consider.

Hope that helps.

Let me know how it goes. I'm taking pictures this weekend. :)_ Hoping it doesn't come to that, but best to be informed and prepared.

Save Lyxa's answer; it's invaluable. Not to mention funny!

As part of the process of determining the value of the business you may need to hire a forensic accountant. If you have a good div. atty ask who he/she uses in such matters.

Lyxa's answer gave me the strength to pursue it. It's not even so much the value of the business, its that he's claiming to make only 1/3 of what he previously made, and gettign even more perks from the business.

My lawyer doesn't think a full blown eval. is worth my money, but I am using someone he recommended to at least get into the ball park. The accountant gave me his list of documents, and I'm typing the list myself and sending it to my H to save some money. I've already drawn up some spreadsheets on the business to try to look at the profits, but I need help with the metrics.