Divorce for Medical Practitioners in FL

Establishing yourself as a successful medical practitioner in the Daytona Beach area takes time, money, and dedication. Some people spend years - or decades - building their practice, and they use their income from their medical practice to support their families. While success can be satisfying on many levels, it can feel like it is all crashing down if you decide to get a divorce.

If you are a medical practitioner facing divorce, it is natural to wonder about the future of your practice. You should not wait to discuss your situation and concerns with a Daytona Beach divorce attorney from the Law Office of Jeffrey A. Klein. We assist professionals with the divorce process, and we are ready to help you.

Property Division in a Florida Divorce

Like many states, Florida law requires divorcing spouses to divide all of their marital property in an equitable manner. Marital property is the property and assets that you and your spouse acquired during your marriage. A medical practice could be treated in different ways:

• If you started your medical practice during the marriage, it is marital property
• If you started your medical practice prior to your marriage, only the increase in value of the business and income the practice earned since your marriage will be marital property

In either situation, a portion of your practice - likely a hefty one - will be marital property that the law requires you to divide.

How Do You Divide Your Medical Practice?

If you are a medical provider and your spouse is not, how will you go about dividing your practice? It might not make any sense for your spouse to receive part of your practice, and there are different options for such property division.

The first step of the process is to determine what your practice is worth. Having an accurate business appraisal (and appraisal of all your property) is key to fairly dividing your property. Next, you will need to determine your overall property distribution picture.

“Equitable distribution” in Florida does not mean equal, and the court generally does not order practitioners to dissolve their businesses or divide them with spouses who are not also medical practitioners. Instead, there are other ways to ensure that your property distribution is equitable without your spouse getting half your practice.

For example, if your medical practice is appraised at a similar value as your house, the court might award your spouse the house outright and allow you to keep your practice intact. Other options might be:

• Your practice is appraised at $500,000, and you have $1 million in personal assets. Instead of splitting the assets down the middle, your spouse would get an additional $250,000 to make up for their half of your practice. You keep your practice and $250,000 in assets, and your spouse gets $750,000 in assets.
• If your practice is the only asset that you have, you might liquidate what you can to pay your spouse. If such liquidation would hurt your business, you might agree to a payment arrangement over time.

Seek Help from a Daytona Beach Divorce Lawyer Today

Getting divorced can be complicated for medical practitioners, but a Daytona Beach divorce attorney at the Law Office of Jeffrey A. Klein can help. Contact us online or call 386-252-3061 for more information.