When you’re a physician with your own practice going through a divorce, you have to consider its value as a financial asset. If you’re one of the many physicians who has managed to stay in business by operating as part of a group practice or partnership in Illinois, these are some questions that will be helpful for you to ask yourself as early on in the process as possible.
What type of practice do you have?
For one thing, you’ll want to know the entity type of your practice. Whether it’s a limited liability company, S corporation, C corporation, partnership or just a sole proprietorship, the type of entity will inform the way your divorce should be handled.
Something that also matters is when your practice was officially established. It makes a considerable difference in your divorce if you established it before getting married as opposed to during your marriage.
Another key part of your practice in the divorce is the way that you funded the business. Make sure you know whether or not the participants were issued stock options and if a buy/sell agreement was involved.
You may be required to inform others working in the practice
It’s important to think about the impact that the divorce can have on your practice – not just for you but the others involved as well. You may be required to inform the other physicians in your practice about the divorce proceedings since it’s an issue that will likely impact everyone.
Something to keep in mind is that depending on the jurisdiction where your practice is located, it is not possible for someone who isn’t a physician to own a practice or have physicians under their employ. This means if your ex-partner isn’t a physician, there’s no way they’ll be able to take a share of your medical practice.
The location and profitability of your practice will also come into play in the divorce. And finally, one of the most challenging parts of your business to evaluate is goodwill, which is considered an intangible asset.