Loose ends…
Besides being an insolvency advisor with work experience, I am now also an expert by experience. Just as the loose electric wires hang from the ceiling at the electrician's house, the table has been wobbling for years at the carpenter's, so I had not separated the estate after a broken relationship with an entrepreneur. I just never realized that things could go wrong with the company.
But it happened anyway and it cost me dearly: a forced sale of a house, because the house was still in both names, was the result. So entrepreneurs who have a warm heart for their partner, even after a divorce, be warned! So at the end of the year it is a good time to reflect on the consequences of the risk of entrepreneurship within a marriage or relationship.
Are you self-employed and do you have wedding plans, do you want to enter into a registered partnership or do you prefer to live together first, then let a civil-law notary inform you about drawing up marriage or partnership conditions or a cohabitation agreement. If you are married in community of property, it is also possible to make a standing marriage, prenuptial agreement. You can obtain useful information from the notary's telephone for € 0,80 per minute, telephone 0900 346 9393, daily from 9.00 a.m. to 14.00 p.m.
Most notaries also offer the opportunity to obtain free information. It will often be decided, for example, to put the common home in the name of the non-entrepreneur. If the entrepreneur comes into heavy weather and the creditors seek redress on the assets of the entrepreneur, it will in any case not be possible to complete the house.
In the case of cohabitation, pension funds generally require a cohabitation agreement as a condition for entitlement to partner's pension. It is important for self-employed persons who are obliged to join a pension fund to check how this has been arranged with their pension fund. Something will happen to you….
But also a list that lists the things you brought up at the wedding or cohabitation can prevent many problems. Just think of the entrepreneur in heavy weather, the debts are accumulating and one day the bailiff is on the doorstep. In such a case, a cohabitation agreement or marriage or partnership terms and conditions listing each person's property (which is attached to the deed by the notary) may be helpful. During the wedding or cohabitation, it is advisable to ask for a receipt that is registered in the case of more expensive purchases or to regularly update the application list via the notary. In this way you can demonstrate who owns the business.
If the business is running smoothly and the entrepreneur is doing well, then take some time to think about disability insurance (AOV). There are insurance companies that, for example, give a discount to starters or policy conditions and adjust the premium to the degree of risk of disability. In this way, loss of income due to illness or accident can be prevented.
And last but not least, if it comes to a divorce, as an entrepreneur, ensure that your ex-partner no longer runs a direct risk due to your entrepreneurship. If necessary, have the ascription of movable and / or immovable property adjusted and indicate to the pension fund that the marriage or cohabitation has ended and that the ex-partner would like to receive his / her share of the pension directly in due course. Tie those loose ends!
Mariska Licht, insolvency adviser at Zuidweg & Partners