What Happens to My YouTube Channel in a Maryland Divorce?

Part of the answer depends on whether a spouse’s YouTube Channel (or other social media account) can be considered a marital asset, and whether the Channel is valuable for divorce purposes. Some YouTube Channels are more akin to a personal hobby. But others are more akin to a small business that generates significant income, has employees, etc. In those cases, the YouTube Channel will have to be listed as a potential marital asset subject to division by the Maryland divorce court. In this sense, a successful YouTube Channel can be seen as similar to a small, family-owned business.

On the “plus side,” generally speaking, most people do not lose their small, family-owned businesses (like a YouTube Channel) during a divorce in Calvert County, Maryland. Moreover, Maryland divorce court judges tend to be careful about actions that might destroy the value of a small business that is a potential source of income for spouses after the divorce. The business might be needed so that the individuals can support themselves, for alimony and for child support purposes. Maryland divorce courts are also aware of issues related to small businesses involving control of business operations and the essential contributions of individual owners.

How something like a YouTube Channel is handled in a Maryland divorce can be confusing. Thus, it is beneficial to seek advice and legal guidance from experienced Maryland divorce and family law attorneys. Contact us here at the Law Office of Robert Castro via our phone number (301) 870-1200 or by using our contact page. We have offices in Waldorf, Maryland.

As noted above, there are two initial questions. The first is whether the YouTube Channel is a marital asset. Some key factual questions include:

• Which spouse started the YouTube Channel, and was it operating prior to the marriage?
• Was marital income invested in the YouTube Channel?
• Did the spouses use the income from the YouTube Channel for marital purposes (such as maintaining the marital home)?
• Is one spouse primarily responsible for operating the Channel, or is it jointly operated?
• Was the Channel a gift or an inheritance?

Under Maryland law, property — including small businesses and assets like a YouTube Channel — is NOT marital property if the property belonged to a spouse prior to the marriage or if the property was obtained through a gift or inheritance, as long as the property was not co-mingled with other marital property. If the YouTube Channel is not deemed “marital property,” then the Channel is not subject to being equitably divided between the spouses. It will continue to belong to the spouse who owns it.

Even if the YouTube Channel is deemed “marital property,” that does not necessarily mean that the Channel will be “split” between the spouses in terms of ownership or control. Again, there are some factual questions that will bear on what happens to the Channel. The questions include some of the ones listed above, and these additional questions:

• Are there other owners of the Channel, and is there an owners’ agreement with relevant provisions covering divorce situations?
• Are there any relevant agreements between the spouses?
• Is the Channel viable after the divorce and expected to continue operating?
• How is the Channel currently owned and would the operation of the Channel be hampered by joint ownership after the divorce?

Where it is undesirable or impossible for the spouses to jointly own a small business or something like a YouTube Channel after the divorce, the most common solution is to consider the Channel as part of the “bundle” of assets that are to be divided by the divorce court. From this “bundle,” the divorce court makes an equitable division that may give one spouse the whole Channel (and control) while giving an equivalent set of assets to the other spouse.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Family Law and Child Custody Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Family Law lawyers. Our address is 11701 Central Ave, Waldorf, MD, 20601.