It's a sad but true statistic: 50% of U.S. marriages end up indivorce court, a number that has held steady over the past decadein spite of bad economic times, according to the CDC's National Vital StatisticsSystem. Although the numbers represent a decline in overalldivorce rates from the high of the late 20^th century, itis rising in some demographics–specifically, among babyboomers.

While the personal impact of divorce can be devastating,splitting up a marriage can also disrupt a spouse'sbusiness—especially the typical independent insurance agency, whichtends to be privately held and frequently intertwined with thefamily.

In the case of a divorce, a privately held business canrepresent a major portion of the marital estate and become subjectto division in the settlement. Business owners who don't plan forthis eventuality the same way they would any other personalcatastrophe could seriously damage their agencies as the result ofa divorce settlement.

Luckily, there are things you can do to protect yourbusiness—not just from the ill effects of a divorce, but from anyother personal catastrophe, says Tim Cunningham, managing directorof OPTIS Partners, aChicago-based specialty investment banking and consulting firmfocusing on insurance distribution.

Here are some steps you can take to keep your agency–or aclient's business–running in the event of a divorce, death,disability or other life event:

Pay a professional to regularly—and fairly—value yourbusiness. This is a basic first step in any sort oflong-term agency planning, even if you're a single-owner agency,Cunningham stresses. Regular periodic valuation of your business byan industry-specific professional firm has the collateral benefitof establishing the value in case of a divorce. It is also essential in transactions with shareholders, to providecollateral for a lender, and in estate planning. And althoughthere are dozens of amateur “formulas” floating around, such asmultiples of revenue or commission, don't rely on thesehome-remedy estimates to value your agency. “A fair valuation by aqualified professional is good business planning and it may helpbulletproof you in a divorce,” Cunningham says. “Value the firmfairly and regularly, even if you're a sole shareholder.”

If a divorce is inevitable and you're dividing up a maritalestate, your business's value will become an issue. Bothspouses will likely have their own valuation. “Then it becomesa case of dueling experts,” Cunningham says. “Many judges indivorces have a very poor grasp of business issues. If you've had avaluation done periodiucally and your method has beenconsistent, your lawyer can argue to the court that this is a fairvalue.”

Draw up a pre- or post-nuptial agreement.Although not a lot of people do pre-nups before tying the knot,they should, says Cunningham. Among other things, a good pre-nupwill clearly specify that a spouse's business is completelyseparate from the marital property in case of divorce. And it'snever too late: For business planning purposes, spouses can have alawyer draw up a post-nuptial agreement.

Use shareholder or similar agreements to manage claimson the business by a spouse if there is a divorce. Thisapproach makes sense if the agency has two or more equityowners—again, because the issue of ownership is germane not only todivorce, but also clarifies matters in the event of a partner'sdeath, disability or retirement, Cunningham says. If there aremultiple shareholders, each should have a separate employmentagreement, including non-compete language and details about agencyvalue and how it is to be valuesd and treated in the event of adivorce—another reason to have the agency professionally valuedregularly.

Run your business like a business. The familyagency isn't personal property, so “treat it like a business,”Cunningham says. Make it clear that the business is your employerby paying yourself and the other owners a market salary based ontheir contributions and keeping business and personal financesstrictly separate.