Recent Blog Posts
Structured Payouts and Promissory Notes When Dividing a Business in Divorce
A house can be sold. A retirement account can be split by formula. A privately owned business resists both of those easy solutions, and that is what makes dividing one in a divorce a tricky problem. When the marital estate includes a company, how does one spouse actually pay the other for their share,… Read More »
How a Divorce Filing Can Affect a Miami Business’s Credit and Financing
Business owners tend to think of divorce as a private matter. Once a lender, a vendor, or even a landlord catches wind of the filing, that assumption often falls apart fast. A divorce can quietly reshape a company’s ability to borrow money, extend credit, or keep day-to-day operations running smoothly while the case moves… Read More »
Key Person Life Insurance Wasn’t Built for Divorce, But It Should Account for One
The name gives it away. Key person life insurance is built to protect a business from losing someone to death, not to a marriage ending. Fair enough. But has anyone at your company ever asked what happens to that same coverage, and the business it protects, when the disruption comes from a courtroom instead… Read More »
The Pre-Wedding Checklist Item Most Business Owners Forget: Reviewing Your Buy-Sell Agreement
Cake tastings, seating charts, venue deposits. Somewhere on that list, or nowhere on it at all, should be a document sitting in a file drawer that could quietly determine whether your business survives if your marriage does not. If you own an interest in a company and a wedding date is set, your buy-sell… Read More »
Your Business Built the Empire. Does Your Marriage Contract Protect It?
You spent years building something from scratch, maybe out of a garage, a spare bedroom, or a single client contract that eventually grew into a real company. Now you are getting married, and a quiet question has probably crossed your mind. If this marriage ever ends, does your business end up divided along with… Read More »
Keep Your Company Out of the Courtroom Spotlight With Confidential Arbitration
Business owners tend to guard information carefully. Client lists, internal financials, and ownership structures are not things you want circulating in a public court file for competitors, employees, or the press to stumble across. So what happens when a divorce threatens to drag all of that information into the open? For many South Florida… Read More »
Is Your Ex Trying to Turn Your Children Against You?
Co-parenting is never easy, but sometimes one parent tries to turn the children against the other. In Florida, parental alienation can result in a judge awarding the other parent custody. At Hamilton O’Neill, we have met with frustrated men and women who are trying to move on after a divorce, but their ex continues… Read More »
Hiring the Right Lawyer for Your Same-Sex Divorce
With the numbers of same-sex marriages increasing over the past decade, we have seen an uptick in same-sex divorce at the same time. At Hamilton O’Neill, our clients who seek to end a same-sex marriage have many of the same concerns as other clients. They are unsure of how the divorce will affect them… Read More »
Legal Considerations with Blended Families
Parents are increasingly getting remarried, which means they often blend children from their prior marriages. Blending two families together can feel like a challenge, but it has many rewards. Some of the challenges include clearly defining stepparent roles and giving children space. At Hamilton O’Neill, we know that blended families also raise some legal… Read More »
Overlooked Parts of Parenting Plans
A detailed, well-organized parenting plan is the foundation for any co-parenting relationship. Although many of our clients are focused on obtaining custody, few give any thought to the “nuts and bolts” of actually parenting with their ex. Critical parts of a parenting plan include dividing holidays and detailing how you will exchange your child… Read More »