LTD company and divorce

[Supermog01]

Does anybody know what would happen with a LTD company in the event of divorce?
I am looking to divorce my husband for various reasons including financial abuse. He is the director of a LTD company which was purchased during our marriage for £100,000
Is this counted as an asset of the marriage and therefore counted in divorce settlement

If it makes a difference we have been together 10 years married for 8.5. Have DD who is nearly 7 who I have been a SAHM to until last year and now I work school as he won’t look after DD

That’d be an asset. Unfortunately smaller companies aren’t audited now so accurately getting a value is hard.

The owners of a ltd company are the shareholders, not the directors. Assume that he is the sole shareholder? Or do you have any shares? Either way it should be an asset of the marriage (unless neither of you are shareholders)

Even if accounts don’t need to be audited, they still need to prepared, abbreviated versions are filed at companies house but full versions needed for tax. So he should have them. But anyway a company is not usually valued based on its balance sheet, it’s the expected future earnings that matter

But anyway a company is not usually valued based on its balance sheet, it’s the expected future earnings that matter

That rather depends on what kind of company it is. Some are valued on a net asset basis, others take more account of a profit to earnings ratio, or a mixture of both. Professional companies (eg opticians or dental surgeries) are valued according to an industry standard. Whatever it is, you will need legal advice (not from an internet message board) and possibly a forensic accountants report.

Thanks for the replies

Only my husband is named on the documents for the business. I am unsure at the financial ins and outs of it but I know that the last quater that he paid VAT for the business it was in the region of £4,800.

He has 2 other businesses that were his on paper however in the last year he sold half of these 2 businesses to friends and has all the documentation in friends name so on paper only one business is his

I will be taking legal advice in the next 2 months as I only have access to my wages (18hours a week, term time only) and I needed to save some money as I presume that only legal aid is given in instances of physical violence and not financial abuse

You will need to request a valuation if the business, it is very subjective. As mentioned above, the basis of valuation can depend on the industry and also who performs the valuation.

I would ask about legal aid and fast. The definition of abuse is wider now. If you google his name and “companies house beta” you can see for free any companies of which he is a director or shareholder, and their accounts (though a private company can wait a while before they file them). That includes any companies he was a director off in the past. Unfortunately not partnerships etc.

If he only sold half of his businesses to friends he is still part owner even if his part ownership is not mentioned on the documentation. If that is the case his half of these businesses is still an asset of the marriage and should be taken into account in the divorce. If he sold the businesses completely to friends for less than their actual value in order to reduce the amount of any settlement he has to pay you, the courts can set aside those transactions and treat the businesses as still being his.

As Collaborate says, you need to get proper legal advice.

You may be entitled to legal aid on the grounds of financial abuse but there isn't enough information here to say for sure. You should see if you can find a solicitor who will give you an initial free consultation. That consultation won't give you many answers but they should be able to advise on likely costs and when you would be expected to pay.