Should I try and sell my shares in business post divorce?

[nofaithinmen]

I am nearly 3 months post finalised divorce. Our financial settlement included me being paid a lump sum from a remortgage on the FMH (due to receive any day now) and me signing back 10% shareholding in exh’s limited company.

It was quite a DIY divorce and I have walked away from what I would consider less than I would have been entitled to in a court of law but for my own wellbeing I decided to move out and start again and try and move on with my life. My exh would have fought hard and has a history of recklessness and abuse which would have made it all very hideous and bitter and I would put money on it dragging out for years.

There is a long history here of alcoholism and abuse and it has taken me a long time to get away from it. He is very Jekyll/hyde and on his remorseful days would always tell me that the FMH wouldn’t be there if it werent for me (true, he’d have plunged us all into even more debt than there already was and it would have been repossessed. I always said his types of behaviours would either render us bankrupt or millionaires, we’ve been closest to the bankrupt version. Ultimately he launched a final year of tyranny on me which saw me leaving the FMH to rent (including him reporting me to the police for abuse during
the entirety of our marriage even though he was known to the police for the opposite)

Anyway, he’s sent me the forms to sign over the 10%, there is nothing explicit in the consent order about this transaction or when it needs to be completed (he couldn’t be arsed to engage and I had to pay for all legal advice, I put stuff in to protect my lump sum payment and timelines etc and he signed the final draft papers without even reading them)

I feel like asking him to give me the 10% value of those shares in order to sign them over, or requesting my 10% in dividends or maybe waiting til his year end (October) to get dividends (I don’t even know if this means he’d then be legally obliged to give me 10%)

Hes been spending money like rain, paying off debts that he wouldn’t go near when we were married, doing up the FMH which he wouldn’t invest in for years cause he was gonna leave it to me and the kids. He's lavishing the children with stuff and telling them he’s making loads of money. He’s just asked me to be a trustee on a policy he’s taken out through the business so the kids get £1 million if he dies. And last year he refused to pay for everything whilst every last penny of my savings gap were paying all the household bills.

And meanwhile im
paying rent and getting my monthly salary topped up with UC while I try and build a new life. I am bitter and angry and trying to move past it but until I start to rebuild my own life and heal I think I’m gonna have to go through all these feelings for a while.

The business is a consultancy business, only him, no assets. He has always earned very good money when he’s earning and has spent years building up to negotiating some type of deal that will see him getting paid out a lot of money (development and construction)

sorry I’m rambling and also trying not to dripped too much

WWYD? See if legally there’s anything I’m entitled to and ask for it or just sign the papers and walk away.

fwiw we share childcare and I have minimised communication as much as physically possible but he still manages to throw abuse into an email from time to time

Did you sign an agreement to remove your 10% interest in the company in return for the lump sum as part of the clean break settlement?

And you did this because you want to have as little as possible to do with him and you were accepting of the lump sum.

If so, why do want to poke the proverbial bear? Do you really think his reaction to you getting back at him will be to think “fair enough I did her wrong and there are the children to think of”? Or do you think he will try to find a way to retaliate?

Do you even want back and forth with him over the value of the shares and dividends due or whatever else?

I did agree to sign them over in the agreement but it wasn’t in return for the lump sum as such, it was just another item to ensure a clean break.

I really shouldn’t poke the proverbial beat should I? I’m just frustrated still I suppose.

thanks, I suppose I’m not really looking to get back at him but would because I’m bitter about my housing and financial situation that he’s left me in it made me want to try and get something…it’s probably really not worth it is it?

It has no value unless it has capital assets
He can close it and start another company tomorrow . He can chose not to issue any dividends

But he will definitely issue himself dividends which i thought might mean I would have to be issued 10% of whatever that total is?

You would need to understand the share structure to be sure (can find some info out on companies house-you are checking there is only 2 type of share holding and no share types trump others) but normally all shareholders are entitled to the same proportion of dividends so if you own 10% at the time it is paid you should get 10%. If you transfer ownership the day before a dividend is paid you aren't entitled to anything.

However you also need to check your agreement doesn't cover accumulated dividends or similar as being paid as part of the settlement.

It's up to you whether it's worth the hassle of time, money and acrimony to pursue this though. You do have to co parent with this horrible human for years yet.

Yeps, part of me just thinks that given that he’s still
hideous to me anyway when it takes his fancy then why not at least get something out of him?

it’s especially petty on my part given what I’ve walked away from but I never get a win with him and now that I’m actually out of the home and in my own space I guess this feels like it could be a small financial win and the smallest of “F.U’s” 😆

it is quite tempting… especially if all I have to do is wait til year end at end of October

He doesn’t need to dividend at a year end
you can dividend at any time or not at all

im pretty certain that there is a process where HMRC need to be informed and clearance from them sought to transfer the shares. If the shares are worth anything & you get nothing he may have to pay tax on the benefit. Just be careful as the director you have legal responsibilities. It might be worth you contacting HMRC for advice.

You would be wrong

share transfers need to be notified to companies house after the sale or transfer has happened and within the annual window for your company

the shares in a psc such as this are typically deemed to have no value as the income is solely reliant on the director whose psc it is and they can just stop generating income at any point

the transfer value would be the initial price paid in (if it was paid in) often only £1 pet share

if there is retained profit you could argue some value but that could be quickly run down through paying a salary or into a pension and back to zero again

thanks For giving me
different perspectives to see.

in relation to the £1 million policy he has taken out through the business would that have required some sort of valuation of business activity?