Though the subject of divorces and family law may not seem to have a direct impact on the operation of a goat farm, the consequences of a divorce can be devastating to the family farm. The basic premise behind a divorce is to split all assets and debts of a marriage evenly between the husband and wife. This is often easy to do if the only items to divide are the house, car, clothes, mortgage, and credit card debt. What happens when there is a farm, livestock, and the debt associated with that farm thrown into the mix? The equitable splitting of the land, legally known as real property, and personal possessions, legally known as personal property, becomes more complicated. In many situations, neither party will be able to retain the farm because there is no way to fairly and equitably divide the farm without selling it and dividing the proceeds.

The first issue to consider is how the farm land is owned and under what type of business arrangement the farm is being operated. If the actual land is: a) owned jointly by both parties; b) bought during the marriage; or c) lived on as the marital homestead, the law in most states will recognize that land or real property as being jointly owned by the parties. In these situations, the land is generally going to be considered marital property and not an asset of the business. Where the land is marital property, or jointly owned by the parties, the first order of business is determining how to equitably divide the assets, meaning both real and personal property.

Generally the parties begin the process of dividing the assets and debts by determining the equity, if any, that exists in the farm and its associated assets. In those situations where the debts and assets of the farm are equal to each other and there is no equity in the farm, then it is simply a matter of deciding who is going to get the farm and be responsible for those debts associated with the farm. The party not getting the farm and its associated debts will receive nothing in return because there is no actual value in the farm. In those situations where there is either equity and/or excessive debt built up in the farm, then it must be determined what the value, either negative or positive, of the equity is and how that value will be offset in favor of the parties. For example, if the farm has a positive equity of $100,000, then the party not receiving the property would be entitled to half of that value. There are several ways that one-half of the equity can be paid to the other party. It can as a cash settlement, either paid in full at the time the divorce is granted or paid out in payments over a specified period of time. If the party keeping the farm pays the other party at the time the divorce is granted it often requires them to take out a mortgage against the property. Another way that the value could be given to the other party is by dividing the other assets of the marriage in such a way that the party not receiving the farm would be awarded not only their share of the property, but also additional property equaling half of the value of the equity in the farm. This is common where there are enough assets to make it a feasible solution.

In those situations where the farm is owned by a corporation or other business entity, the issue to be determined is ownership of the company and how to put a value on that ownership. If there is stock ownership in a company and that stock is determined to be an asset of the marriage, then the value of that stock should be equally divided between the parties. Because each state has its own laws regarding marriage and divorce, it is important to seek the advice of an experienced family law attorney when dealing with any issues arising from a divorce.

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