Legal Question in Business Law in California

I cannot answer any family law aspect of whether you should close your LLC. I can research that matter for you. I can tell you that to end the LLC, you can dissolve it and wind down the affairs of the business. Please contact me to discuss how that is done.

Sincerely,

Robert Preskill

Please see my Blog on how to dissolve an LLC in California.

http://bealbusinesslaw.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-want-to-cancel-my-llc-may-i-just-file.html

I can't speak to the family law aspects of your matter.

How did you form the LLC? Many LLC founders do it themselves, by preparing and filing a California Secretary of State Form LLC-1. If you did it yourself, go back to the SOS Web site and look at the forms and the instructions........you'll perhaps need Form 4/7, but maybe Form 3 or Form 4/8. File any tax returns and pay any taxes due. If there are other members in your LLC, you may need their signatures. The forms come with good instructions. Or, retain a business lawyer to handle the cancellation.

Another method used by some is simply to ignore the LLC for years....don't file any papers, don't pay any taxes, don't transact any business. This has worked in the past; after a while, the state simply writes you off. Lawyers, including me, don't recommend this method for unofficially terminating an LLC, but it has worked. Can't speak to the future, however; the state is cash-strapped and seems to be increasing efforts to collect taxes from defunct small corporations and LLCs.

The LLC may be entirely community property, partly community and partly separate property, or, possibly, entirely separate property. In some cases, an attorney would be able to characterize it fairly readily, by asking about when it was formed, when you married, where the capital invested in it came from, and what the LLC is now worth, if anything. If it has tiny or no assets and liabilities, no one is going to care much. If the LLC's history is rather complex, it may require calculations to figure out the community interest.

Selling or closing the LLC while a divorce is pending without court order, is a really good way to find yourself held in contempt of court. When you sign or are served with a divorce petition, you become subject to automatic restraining orders listed on the Summons (Family Law) form. Disposing of property (and ownership of an LLC is property) except for the necessities of life or in the usual course of business is prohibited without a court order. Selling or closing a company is not "usual" course of business. You need a family law attorney who is versed in dealing with businesses in divorce.