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Divorce in the family business: unfolding the legal problems by learning from practice

Kajsa Haag ( Jönköping International Business School Jönköping Sweden )
Lars-Göran Sund ( Jönköping International Business School Jönköping Sweden )

Journal of Family Business Management

ISSN: 2043-6238

Article publication date: 1 March 2016

653

Abstract

Purpose

Our purpose is to explore the case of divorce in family business from a legal perspective and highlight the problems of applying family law in the family business context.

Design/methodology/approach

We rely on legal analysis and interviews with estate distribution executors to discuss problems with the legal rules and how they are practiced.

Findings

Our findings show that the law is ill fitted to the situation where there is a family business included in the division of marital property. In divorce, family law dictates the division of marital property and the family business is reduced to an asset to be divided like any other. Critical issues are identified and elaborated.

Research limitations/implications

Divorce and other disruptions to the family system should be considered in family business consultancy among other threats to the business. The legal perspective on divorce in the family business offered here primarily concerns ownership issues. The impact of divorce on management is equally in need of exploration, which is our suggestion for further studies.

Practical implications

Our paper illuminates in which ways the business is hampered from divorcing owners and discuss critical issues with applying family law in a family business context.

Originality/value

New light is shed on the practical problems of interpreting family law in a family business context advancing our understanding of family aspects in family business management.

Citation

Haag, K. and Sund, L.-G. (2016), "Divorce in the family business: unfolding the legal problems by learning from practice", Journal of Family Business Management, Vol. 6 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-06-2015-0021

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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