Can my husband sell the business without my permission?

For the purpose of this answer I'm assuming that you mean that he had 50% ownership of Company X at the time that you got married, and that at some time after you became married, then he obtained the other 50%, to own 100% of company X. If indeed he were 100% legal owner of X, then yes is the full legal owner of the company and he can cash in the stock for the payment.

However, that doesn't fully answer the problem. Equitably you have a stake in any property that came into the marriage and so certainly in the divorce court you have a claim to anything and everything that he "owns" either standing in his name legally, like the stock, or things in both of your names.

Did you have ANY stake in the company at all?

Another problem: did he receive full and fair value for the stock? In other words did the monetary or other exchange that he received for the transfer of the stock equal the value of the company? In the hypothetical, if the value of the company exceeds whatever they paid him, there is an outstanding obligation by the company to him. Either they need to have a note stating the terms of the payment, or they are playing funny with the money and hiding it for whatever reason.

I don't want to stir up trouble I really don't but if you are headed in your separate directions you would indeed have a right to know what the value of the company was on the date of the stock transfer and what the terms of the payment are. The fuzzier the answers are, the more right you have to a clear answer.

This answer is provided for informational purposes only. True legal advice can only be provided in an office consultation by an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction and with experience in the area of law in which your concern lies.

The 50% of the company your husband owned prior to your marriage is likely his separate property. The 50% acquired after marriage is likely community property. To determine the nature of the property, it will be necessary to trace the ownership of the stock and the means used to acquire the stock both before the marriage and after the marriage - in other words, what moneys were used to acquire the stock after marriage? There is a presumption, unless there is a pre-nuptial agreement addressing the stock, that property acquired during the marriage is community property. Upon divorce, you would be entitled to one-half the community portion of the stock.

If your husband has already sold the stock to the company manager, one of the questions that needs to be addressed in your divorce is the nature of the transaction, the relationship your husband has/had with the company manager and whether he received full value for the stock. Also, what side agreements, if any, does your husband have with the company manager? If your husband did not sell the stock for full value, he may be wasting community assets. You will need to discover what the terms of the sale were and what is actually happening. This sounds like your husband is attempting to transfer assets out of the community estate prior to the divorce.

I highly recommend you seek counsel from a family law attorney in your area.