ABA Family Legal Guide

Family Law

Money Matters During Marriage

Doing Business Together

May husbands and wives go into business together?

Certainly. Wives and husbands can be business partners. They can set up a corporation and both be owners and employees of the corporation; they can form a partnership; or one spouse can own the business and employ the other. Wages and benefits can be paid, just as they are for any other employee. If wages and benefits are being paid to a spouse or a child, the amount usually should not be more than what is reasonable or a fair market value. If artificially high payments are made, the business could get into trouble with the Internal Revenue Service.