AM I ENTITLED TO AN INTEREST IN MY WIFE'S BUSINESS?

QUESTION: Am I entitled to any of my wife's medical practice? We were married in February, 2009. At that time my wife was a partner in a medical group, and she had no employees. On April 1, 2010 my wife left the group and started up her own medical practice. She has 16 employees. She filed for divorce in February, 2011 for no obvious reasons. Her personal income for the year will be between 700k and 900k. Am I entitled to a portion of her practice?

ANSWER: You likely are entitled to a community interest in your wife's medical practice, but you will need expert assistance in asserting and valuing that interest.

Each party's earnings from his or her labors after the date of separation are separate property.

Since your wife formed her medical business during the marriage and prior to separation, her medical business would be a community property business, and it would appear that much of the income of that medical business was generated from the labors of its 16 other employees.

You will likely need to retain an experienced Family Law Attorney and a Forensic Accountant to assert and value your community interest in your wife's medical business.

Whereas your wife's post-separation earnings from that business would appear to be her separate property, if your wife had sole control over her compensation and took all of the profits of the business as income, the Court could consider evidence from an Executive Compensation Expert regarding reasonable compensation of a doctor-owner of a medical practice in apportioning how much of the business profits are attributable to your wife's post-separation (separate property) work and talent, and how much of those profits are attributable to the community interest in the business.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a California Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |