If you have an ownership interest in a business, it may be wise to obtain a pre-nuptial agreement before getting married to protect your interest in that business and keep it a separate property, not part of the marriage.

However, if you neglect to protect that business OR you acquire interest in a business after you are married, any interest that has appreciated after the marriage or anything acquired during the marriage is considered “Marital Property.”

In a divorce in Ohio, the courts typically divide anything considered “martial property” according to an equitable distribution analysis.

Additionally, if you and your spouse are both actively involved in running the business, but the marriage fails, the court encourages the parties to separate all of their interests, including the business interests. The debts and the equity related to the business will be factored into the net value of the business to be divided by the equitable distribution analysis.