Re the LLC. I think you're looking at it as something protected from outsiders. Your W is an insider. Your share of your business is an asset and up until your marriage failed was equally her asset unless you had an agreement of some kind keeping her separate from that particular asset. But in most marriages assets get split 50/50. Therefore your part of the LLC is worth something and half of that value is hers. If you can't sell your share and split the proceeds then you will most likely be told to come up with the monetary equivalent; then you keep your full share and have 100% of that asset but less of something else ie money. We're not your lawyers nor your financial advisors, and we're not just trying to beat you down so you accept less than you're entitled to. We're just trying to open your eyes so when her lawyer fights for her half of a marital asset you're not blindsided.
^^^Yes, thank you, that is exactly what I was trying to say, but I think you said it in easier-to-understand terms
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As a secondary insight, I had a real estate developer/agent come through and assess the house. He figures it is worth roughly what is owed
I thought you said it was wholly owned by the LLC? The loan is a business loan, not home loan, correct? The value of the LLC needs to be assessed, then the debt subtracted from that to determine actual value. Just to throw some numbers out, let's say the home is worth 50k and the business loan is 40k. The LLC value may be 400k without the house, so 450k with, or 410k once the business loan amount is removed. If the court deems your W is entitled to half of your 15% share, then she'd be awarded 33,750.00. Typically a court is sensitive to the fact that a divorcing couple is not going to want to split a company, so they'll call for a monetary judgment. IE, instead of giving her half of your share of the LLC, they'll award her a cash settlement.
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Therefore, why should wife get this huge return on her investment? It makes no sense.
Whatever she "invested" is immaterial. In the above example her 33,750.00 settlement is based purely on what 7.5% of the LLC is worth. You are "buying out" her portion, you're giving her cash in exchange for taking over her 7.5% of the LLC. She may have invested 100k or 1k, doesn't matter to the court.
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Therefore, she needs money. That reasoning doesn't make financial sense to me, or even ethical or moral sense for that matter. I honestly don't see how a judge would see it any other way.
Look at my W and me. We bought a house together 14 years ago. I paid every single house payment. I paid the house off a little over a year ago. So it's MY house right? I mean, my W left me, why does she deserve any part of MY house? Except it's not my house, it's our house. We each contributed to the household in various ways like all married couples do. Now she wants out. Now if I told you that my W doesn't DESERVE a part of MY house, what would you tell me? It's the same with your sitch, except the house is part of the LLC and it's her stake in the LLC we're talking about.
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Why on earth do "we", meaning myself as well as the business and my family, deserve to take a financial hit while wife is the only one who benefits?
You are buying out your W's portion of the LLC. It's just between you and your W, there's no financial hit to the business or the family. And while you're out some cash, you get her share of the LLC in return.
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First of all, I don't feel she donated "her" money to the family business. I feel she invested into it, just like we all did. unfortunately, there are no gurantees and the real estate market just hasn't been on a steady upswing over the last 6 years.
I don't know what your business is, but from what I've read it sounds like the "real estate" holdings are just the grounds of the business, not the business itself. In the case of my company, the only tangible assets are some computers and office furniture of very little value. The real value of the company is in the reputation and potential work, and the way it's valued is by looking at its profit history to determine value. I would imagine it to be the same for your business. The real estate market only impacts the value of the tangible assets.
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but wife has an equal amount accountability in the demise of the relationship.
OK, so equal. That's 50-50. So why do you think she's not entitled to 50% of the marital assets? That is what a judge will want to know. After all, you did also say this:
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Prior to the separation, W and I were mutal partners in our marriage. We split EVERYTHING.
