Many transportation business owners will seek the valuation of their business for a number of reasons. Often times in a distressing family situation such as a divorce, one spouse will seek the valuation. With a 50% chance of a divorce occurring in any business owner’s professional career, a valuation can become very valuable.
During a divorce settlement, if the two spouses both own shares into their transportation business, often there can be a disagreement as to how much the business is worth. Perhaps both of them were looking at two very different sources to arrive at their figure. She was looking to her personal accountant of many years to determine the value of the business. He was using a tight formula that he heard about many years ago from another owner in the transportation industry.
Having two very different values caused further conflict in their settlements. Since neither could reach an agreement, time was dragging on and lawyer fees were beginning to add up. After several months, the wife remembered attending a function in which a speaker spoke on the process of selling or purchasing a transportation business. The advice given during that address was to hire a third party intermediary who has expertise in the transportation business. They both agreed that hiring a professional with the industry expertise would probably be the only way they would be able to reach some type of agreement.
After hiring a third party intermediary, the couple received a valuation of their transportation business in 10 days. They were able to discuss and finally agree on a price. After 18 months of stressful disagreements, the transportation business value was finally agreed upon.
Unfortunately, the couple had spent thousands on attorney fees before turning to an industry expert. Because a divorce is already a time of stress and conflict, agreeing upon the price of a co-owned business should not add to it. By hiring the third party intermediary, the couple quickly dissolved the conflict. If only they had done this months before!
Reaching an agreement during a divorce is one example of how a third party transportation industry expert can assist business owners. Whether it is a divorce or other family matter, seeking professional industry expertise can alleviate some of your stress.
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