Business Assets
The most difficult cases to resolve are those where the parties have been running a business together. Often both want to continue. Only rarely is this possible. In such cases the business will either have to be sold to a third party or one party will have to be bought out by the other.
On 26/10/2000 The House of Lords in the case of White v White made Legal history by suggesting that when dividing assets on divorce the Court should depart from equality only if and to the extent that there is good reason for doing so. Although the Court stated that this was not to be taken as a Legal presumption in every case it is bound to make it easier for wives who stay at home to look after the children whilst their husbands pursue careers to share in the family capital.
Where one party has been running a business which is the family's principal source of income, a Court is not usually interested in the overall value of the business since it needs to continue in order to provide income for the family. Valuations are expensive and tend to be relevant only in a small number of high value cases. It is relevant however, to consider what retirement and other potential benefits will eventually accrue to the party running the business in the future.