University of Minnesota (UMN) researchers initiated a study in 2014 to understand why there’s been an uptick in divorce rates in the U.S. in recent years. They discovered that an increasing number of start-up entrepreneurs, ages 35 and up, are getting divorced.
The researchers came up with many reasons for this surge and identified a whole host of reasons many couples struggle to keep their marriages afloat.
Some takeaways from the divorce causation study
The UMN researchers determined that an overwhelming number of individuals 35 or older are divorcing. They also discovered that an estimated one-half of married Americans had left their spouse by the time they hit the latter part of their 50s.
How this divorce trend may impact entrepreneurs
The start-up culture that has swept across America during the better part of the last decade since the UMN researchers authored their study now adds some context to the divorce statistics mentioned above.
Many business owners can’t afford to hire support staff or advisors to help them run their company when it’s at its earliest stages. They instead find themselves putting in long hours, taking on any number of different roles necessary to keep their business afloat. This investment of time and energy leaves them with very few resources to tap into when they do spend time with family, a factor that can create problems on the homefront.
Money is also often in short supply for entrepreneurs. It’s not uncommon for business owners to sink all their savings in getting their company off the ground, often leaving them with nothing to contribute to their household’s finances. This factor leaves entrepreneurs’ families living a more simplistic lifestyle than they would have expected.
What you should do if you’re an entrepreneur facing divorce
Assessing any business’s value can be challenging, especially since its initial valuation may be starkly different from its projected one. You may find yourself having to turn over an ownership stake in your Denver business to your ex, depending on when you started your company. Your attorney may advise you to weigh the option of turning over alternative assets to your spouse instead of this to protect both you and your Colorado business’s financial future.