09/23/2026
“She never worked a day in my business.”
You started it. You built it. You took the risks, signed the notes, made payroll when things were tight, worked weekends when everybody else went home, and spent years turning an idea into something that finally makes real money.
Your spouse never had an office there. Never met with a customer. Never signed a paycheck. Maybe couldn’t tell you what half your employees actually do.
Now you’re getting divorced, and somebody tells you your business may be part of the marital estate.
That’s usually followed by some version of: “How in the hell can she own part of my company?”
That’s the right time to call a lawyer, because a successful business can turn an otherwise ordinary divorce into a very expensive financial case.
There may be questions about when the business was started, what it was worth when you married, how much it grew during the marriage, how you compensated yourself, whether money went back into the company, and what the business is actually worth today.
And that last question can become a fight all by itself.
If you’ve spent twenty years building a company, don’t wait until somebody else’s expert hands you a number and tells you what your life’s work is worth.
You built the business.
Now find out what the divorce can do to it.
Get Real. Call Steele.
The Steele Firm, PLLC
Family Law
