Suckerpunch down to the wire

[MrCAS]

Personal liability on an LLC only kicks in you are sued for negligence or go through bankruptcy and even then the protection is limited. It is not a "makes it all go away" magic umbrella as much as you would like it to be.

You keep talking about fair, fair, fair...

No, it isn't fair. Not to your D, to your W, or to you. Divorce is never fair. Ever. I know this firsthand. Neither you or your W, IMO, is being fair. However, that is how the game is played. Perhaps it is your black and white tunnel vision that makes it even more unfair to you. These are negotiations. Neither one of you is going to come out unscathed. If you really think you are, then that is just silliness.

For instance, let's say the judge decides to give half of my portion of the business to W. so now W has 7.5% ownership of the business. How is a value placed on that?

The courts will decide what it is worth what. Whether it is through accountants or tax records or whatever, they are still going to delve through business records to determine a value. So then you have a choice... let her keep her portion or buy her out. Maybe come to a settlement before it gets to that point?

You can disagree with all you would care to. I just see, IMO, an angry man who isn't getting what he wants and is venting, pouting, sulking...

Some people here remind me of an alcoholic businessman that I know professionally... He says to me one day, "MC, why is that people in my town still treat me like an AH? I have been sober for almost a year. You would think they would have seen how much I have changed." I said, "M, being sober for a year doesn't, in some people's minds, make up for the 20+ years you were a drunken jerk."

Personally, I thought M was just being a dry drunk and not really getting sober. He was still a sharp tongued mean old guy when things didn't go his way. He was the "Looky! Looky! I am sober now! Come admire me!" kind of guy. It was a lot of superficial change. The only difference to me was that he didn't drink anymore.

Change is hard. It has to start from within. It is a painful process. Speaking for myself, I had to dig through 50+ years of hate, meanness, anger, hurt, disappointment, and piles of other stuff to get to the scared little man buried under it all. I am still digging out but at least I can breath now.