Divorce is referred to as "dissolution of marriage. It results in the same thing as a "divorce" in other states: the marriage is ended and the parties are free to remarry.

Allocation of business interests. Allocation of a business interest or a professional practice is a complex task: one of the issues is what is the value of the business interest or professional practice. Ascertaining the value of the practice is a complex issue, and there is a discussion of that issue on the business valuation page. A second issue is how the community estate's interest versus the separate estate's interest is to be allocated.

Without expert testimony about what a fair rate of return is, this will be deemed interest at the legal rate. An alternate approach is to first determine the reasonable value of the community's services (in other words, what could the business have paid if it went out on the market to pay for someone to do the same work as the spouse who worked in the business). After the reasonable value of the services is determined, then the balance of the increase in value is allocated as separate property.

George and Company can assist in this areas.