Family Lawyers for Business Owners Melbourne
Business Owners
You didn’t build your business to lose it in a separation.
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We understand what’s actually at stake
We understand business, and more importantly, the dedication, sacrifice, and skill it takes to build a successful one.
A generic family law approach treats your business like any other asset on a list. It isn’t.
Here’s what that actually looks like, and what we do about it:
Complex company structures, trusts, and interrelated entities are being oversimplified
Standard settlement approaches often fail to properly account for how your business is actually structured. We make sure complexity doesn’t get flattened into a number that doesn’t reflect reality.
Your business is being valued on cash flow, not what it’s actually worth
A valuation based on a snapshot of cash flow can dramatically understate or overstate real value. We push back on valuations that don’t hold up to scrutiny.
You’re being pressured toward a forced sale or a poor settlement
“Just settle and move on” often means walking away from something you’ve spent years building. We work to protect your ability to keep operating, not just to get the matter closed quickly.
You’re worried this will affect staff, clients, or business continuity
Drawn out, public, or poorly handled disputes can damage the business itself, not just your share of it. We work to keep matters resolved efficiently and privately wherever possible.
You built it. We make sure you don’t lose it.
What we deal with
Complex company structures
Multiple entities, shareholdings, and corporate arrangements that don’t fit a simple personal asset model.
Trusts and interrelated entities
Family trusts, discretionary trusts, and structures designed for tax or succession purposes that now intersect with a property settlement.
Cash flow versus real value
The gap between what a business generates day to day and what it’s genuinely worth if valued or sold properly.
The risk of forced sale or poor settlements
Pressure to liquidate or accept an unfair outcome simply to bring the matter to a close.
What we can do for you
Make sure your business isn’t just thrown into the mix like everything else
Your business gets the specific attention its structure and complexity actually requires.
Help you keep control so you’re not forced to sell or walk away from it
We structure settlements to protect business continuity wherever genuinely possible.
Call out unfair valuations that don’t reflect what your business is actually worth
We don’t accept a lowball or inflated valuation at face value, from either side.
Work directly with your accountants, advisors, and key staff to get the right outcome
Your existing professional relationships stay involved, rather than being sidelined by a purely legal process.
Stand up for you and fight if things start going sideways
Where negotiation breaks down, we’re ready to represent you firmly in court.
Get a clear, current picture of your business’s value
This protects you either way, since it prevents disputes later about what the business was worth at separation.
Keep business and personal finances separated where possible
Commingled funds make later disputes significantly messier and harder to untangle.
Understand your existing partnership or shareholder agreements
Know how a forced exit or buyout would actually work under your current arrangements before it becomes relevant.
Don’t make major business decisions under pressure
Restructuring, selling assets, or changing arrangements hastily during separation can create more problems than it solves.
Get advice early, before separation becomes a certainty
Protecting a business takes proactive strategy, not reactive advice once a dispute has already started.
Worried about what this will cost you? We’ve thought about that too.
Free first
appointment
Meet Melanie and get honest strategic advice before you spend anything
Fixed fees where
we can
Where appropriate, we offer fixed fee arrangements, so you have greater certainty around costs from the outset.
Funding options available
through JustFund
Eligible clients may be able to fund their legal fees and repay them at the end of their matter, even if you have no funds available right now.
Transparent
billing
Clear communication. No hidden costs. No surprise invoices.