Great concept of divorce in quarantine due to the 2019 coronavirus pandemic. Face mask cut in half with wedding rings.Jack Bux and his high school sweetheart, Diane, have been married a few years, but the pandemic has taken its toll on their relationship, and they could soon be parting ways. Going into the marriage, Jack had a number of property interests – a home with a mortgage, a retirement account and a small part of the family business – and now he’s concerned that Diane will be able to walk away with half of what he’s been building over the years. Like most Texans, Jack is aware that when it comes to marital property, Texas is a “community property state.” What does this really mean for Jack’s home, retirement account and business?
Continue Reading Texas Community Property Law: An Intro for Business Owners

Realizing last month that, at age 65 he’s ready to think about his family business succession plan – especially for Buxboro State Bank, Big Daddy Ernest Bux identified his checklist: Plan for Contingencies, Establish Goals, Plan Entity Structure and Transfer, Complete Estate Planning, Identify Decision Makers, Identify Successors, Determine Exit Strategy, and Implement Document Maintenance and Control. Must Big Daddy’s family business have a contingency plan for divorce to succeed?
Continue Reading Family Matters: Can a Family Business Succeed Without a Contingency Plan for Divorce?

Cleve and I recently discussed how a business owner’s divorce might result in losing control of the business. While loss of business control by marital divorce is a real threat, many business owners lose their companies through “business divorces” after squabbling with their investors.

Some new businesses are overnight successes, like Ben Distiller’s Texas Whiskey

Richard and Rachel Rich married 30 years ago and enjoyed a tempestuous union ever since. One year prior to their marriage, Richard started up a small computer products company, Orange Computers. During the marriage, Orange Computers’ business skyrocketed after the introduction of their premier line of attractive digital personal assistants. Even after taking his business public, Richard still owned a majority share of Orange’s stock and was believed by the public to be the digital guru responsible for its success.
Continue Reading Protecting your Business from a Lack of “Wedded Bliss”