When You Own a Business and Separate: What Owners Worry About

When a business owner first contacts a family lawyer, the questions are usually practical.

"Do I need to sell the business?"

"Who decides what it's worth?"

"Can I keep running it while this is going on?"

But in my experience, business owners are often carrying a second set of questions underneath.

Questions they do not always say out loud.

"I built this. Why is it part of the conversation?"

This is one of the most common feelings, and it is understandable.

Many owners started the business before the relationship, or spent years building it largely on their own.

But family law looks past whose name is on the paperwork.

A business can come into the picture through:

• shares in a private company

• a director's loan account

• a partnership interest

• a family trust the owner effectively controls

How and when the business was built still matters. It is usually part of looking at each person's contributions, rather than a reason to leave the business out.

The other person's contributions count too. Running the household or caring for the children so the business could grow is also a contribution.

"What if the numbers are used against me?"

Business owners often worry about handing over their accounts.

Their former partners often worry about the opposite: "I don't really know what the business is worth. Everything was in their name."

Both concerns are common.

Disclosure is a legal duty for both parties. For a business, that usually means financial statements, tax returns, BAS, loan account records and trust deeds, not a summary.

The value is usually assessed by a single expert accountant chosen by both sides. And the expert generally works from the accounts as they are.

So if something in the accounts is wrong, the time to raise it is early, and with evidence.

"Will the same money be counted twice?"

A recent Full Court decision, Anselmo & Anselmo [2026] FedCFamC1A 87, shows why the detail matters.

The couple had been together for about fifteen years. The husband owned a private company, and his shares were valued at around $97,000.

The company's accounts also showed about $90,000 in annual leave and long service leave owed to him. The wife argued that this should be counted as his personal asset as well.

The Court said no.

That amount had already been deducted when the company was valued. Counting it again as his personal asset would have counted the same money twice.

But the appeal still changed the result, for a different reason.

The wife had brought about $1 million into the relationship, and the husband about $190,000. The Court found that this could not simply be treated as equal after fifteen years. Her share was increased to 60 per cent.

Two things stand out for business owners:

• each item belongs either in the business valuation or on the personal side, not both

• what each person brought in at the start can still matter years later, if there are records to show it

"Can I keep running the business?"

Usually, yes. And in most cases, you should.

But how the business is run during this period will be looked at.

Large or unusual distributions, a sudden increase in drawings, or assets moved into related entities can all raise questions.

An ordinary business decision that simply turns out badly is different. But the difference has to be shown, which is why good everyday records matter.

"Will I lose the business?"

Most businesses are not split down the middle.

More often:

• one person keeps the business and the other receives other assets or a payment

• payments are sometimes made over time

• the business is sold only where neither person can realistically fund a buy-out

Tax also matters. How a transfer is structured can change what a settlement is really worth, so we often work alongside the client's accountant.

And there are time limits. Generally, proceedings need to start within 12 months after a divorce takes effect, or within two years after a de facto relationship ends.

Most Business Owners Are Not Looking for a Fight

Most owners we see are not trying to "win".

They want:

• the business to keep running

• clarity about the numbers

• a fair outcome

• financial security

• to stop feeling that everything they built is suddenly at risk

Good advice in these matters is not only about the law. It is also about getting the structure, the valuation and the paperwork right early, so the decisions that follow feel less overwhelming.

At R&G Law Group, we assist business owners and their partners with family law and property settlement matters across Brisbane and surrounding areas, in English and Mandarin.

This article is general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Case names are pseudonyms published under s 114Q of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).