Divorce in Ireland, its impact on the family business: a legal perspective

Abstract

More than 900,000 people are employed in family businesses in Ireland. Despite their significant role in Irish society and the economy, there has not been any significant research undertaken to date in relation to marital divorce within such businesses. Identifying the impact of divorce on family business in Ireland is challenging. The existence of separate intellectual silos of family law and business law appears to have inhibited research to date. This research answers the questions of whether divorce impacts on Irish family businesses and whether existing legal resources and procedural remedies are adequate to meet the needs of family business owners.

The subject was approached as a study of the lived experience of those involved in family business, from the perspective of a legal practitioner in family law and business law, adopting a mixed methods doctrinal and socio-legal approach, and draws upon research in both areas.

It examines the underlying legislation and its application in the case law of the superior courts, and it considers the various business models and the stakeholders potentially affected by divorce. The research shows that the adoption of a principled approach to judicial reasoning in family business divorce cases can provide a structural framework within which judicial discretion may be exercised.

Practitioners and the courts need to be informed of existing legal resources and procedural remedies currently available, in the context of both family law and business law, which could assist family business owners when divorce happens. These resources and remedies need to be extended. Legislative change is required to give recognition to ante-nuptial agreements. Procedural changes could be implemented within the court system and an additional alternative dispute process introduced to assist in family business divorces. The research recommends the creation of a toolkit for practitioners and provides an outline for same.

Date of Award	27 Jun 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Northumbria University
Supervisor	Claire Bessant (Supervisor) & Geoffrey Shannon (Supervisor)