Business Interests, Family Owned Businesses & Professional Corporations

Sometimes the biggest asset in a divorce case is a business or professional corporation. As your legal counsel, we are extremely familiar with reviewing and analyzing various types of business interests, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability partnerships and corporations, C corporations and subchapter S corporations. Additionally, many domestic relations cases involve professional corporations, where one or both spouses are doctors, accountants, architects, lawyers or other professionals.

Divorce cases involving businesses require a high level of expertise needed to understand, address and resolve the complex issues presented by businesses or professional corporations. These include dealing with valuation, shareholder agreements, non-compete agreements, minority versus majority ownership, client / customer lists, business-related litigation and commercial real estate. Often one spouse alleges that part or all of the business or professional interests are non-marital, and therefore claim that the business is the sole property of the spouse who holds the ownership interest. Stock might have been gifted by family members to the spouse, or stock might have been received by a spouse before marriage or perhaps even during the marriage.

Clearly, whenever a business interest is involved, there exist complex financial, legal, accounting and tax ramifications. The Law Offices of Beverly A. Pekala is well qualified in this arena. Following Beverly Pekala’s receipt of her Juris Doctor from the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Chicago-Kent College of Law, she continued her post graduate education, receiving a Masters of Law in Taxation in 1986. She then began teaching family law and business law. During her tenure as a practicing attorney for over 25 years, she has represented numerous business owners, as well as clients whose cases involve professional and corporate interests.

It is important to be aware that many lawyers have neither the education nor the expertise required when business interests exist. We at The Law Offices of Beverly A. Pekala clearly possess both the education and experience essential to understanding, addressing and resolving these complex and often delicate issues.