Interesting collaborative article in The Wall Street Journal Online copied
below. Working together is a particularly positive message this time of
year! Happy Holidays to all.
Sue Hansen
Hansen & Hildebrand, S.C.
126 N. Jefferson St. #401
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 273-2422
mailto:sah@xxxxxxxxxx ;<mailto:sah@xxxxxxxxxx>
http://www.h-hlaw.com/
The Wall Street Journal <http://online.wsj.com/home>
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December 24, 2006
SMART MONEY
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Working With Your Ex
By COLLEEN DEBAISE
December 24, 2006
When couples start a business together but wind up divorcing, they usually
end up severing their business relationship as well.
Yet in some cases, the passion for the business can supplant the passion the
partners once had for each other -- leading them to successfully remain a
pair on the job.
Some divorce experts say that shouldn't be so unusual. As more
soon-to-be-ex-spouses try the "collaborative" approach to divorce -- which
focuses on new and amicable ways to resolve disputes -- running a business
together post-divorce emerges as a distinct possibility.
"We ask ex-spouses to be parenting partners; it only makes sense, on a
financial level, to at least let the couple explore the option of being
business partners," says Susan Hansen, a family-law attorney in Milwaukee.
Chefs Remain Partners
Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand have been able to do it. For 25 years, the
Chicago pair has made beautiful meals together, most notably at top-flight
eatery Tru, where customers dine on Mr. Tramonto's sumptuous main courses
and Ms. Gand's delicate desserts.
But while they make magic in the kitchen, the chefs have been divorced since
2000. Despite the breakup, their business has thrived, and the pair -- who
remain amicable -- are opening four new restaurants in suburban Chicago.
"We are the poster children for a divorced couple who can still work
together," says Ms. Gand. "People come to us and ask for advice...and they
marvel."
In 1991, Debi Davis started nutritional-supplement company Fit America with
husband Byron in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A year later, they divorced. And then
they spent the next 14 years growing the business together, until Mr. Davis
left the company last year.
Ms. Davis says she and her ex-husband were "great partners," given his
expertise in marketing and finance and hers in operational management. "We
really brought two different aspects of the business together," she says,
"although we personally wanted different things out of life."
To be sure, many ex-spouses can't work well together -- which is why divorce
lawyers usually don't recommend that they try. "I don't think it normally
works," says Lee Rosen, president of Rosen Law Firm in Raleigh, N.C.
He has seen couples attempt to work together, post-divorce, usually because
the company's revenues support the family, and both partners are critical to
its success. And he's watched those efforts fail. "The same issues that were
happening in the marriage were continuing to happen in the office," he says.
Also, "when people think they are going to do this, they haven't considered
dating," he adds. "The minute that starts happening, it's like 'Oh, we
didn't think of this.' "
In the most unpleasant of situations, ex-spouses continue in the business
together because neither wants to give up control. "It's not a strategic
relationship but a spiteful sort of thing," says Ira Bryck, director of the
University of Massachusetts Family Business Center in Amherst, Mass. "The
real ugliness there is they can draw employees into taking sides, and even
customers into taking sides."
Put It in Writing
Couples who decide to divorce each other but not the business need to do
careful planning, experts advise. It's especially critical to have a
partnership agreement, which will spell out each person's responsibilities
and outline what happens if the business partnership -- like the marriage --
sours.
The ex-spouses may want to consult a mediator or even a therapist, who can
advise them on how to resolve conflicts. And, bottom line, the arrangement
won't work if the two can't get along.
"They have to have the ability to communicate," says Milwaukee attorney Ms.
Hansen, "and there has to be some reasonable degree of trust and respect."
. This month, a SmartMoney.com <http://www.smartmoney.com/> 1 feature called
"The Agenda" offers a series of articles about divorce. Email:
letters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:letters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 2
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