In BVR’s recent webinar, Cryptocurrency Fraud and Forensics: What Valuation Professionals Need to Know, forensic and cryptocurrency experts Katerina Gaebel and Mark DiMichael, both of Citrin Cooperman, covered various hot topics on fraud and forensic accounting issues in digital assets and how they affect the business valuation profession. Here, we summarize five key areas where one would find proof of crypto asset fraud in a marital dispute, including interviews, tax returns, bank accounts, credit card statements, and more. Read more >>

Most people do not realize how different it is appearing in court through virtual technology compared to being there in person. Valuation experts who have not yet had the “pleasure” of attending virtual hearings may be concerned about it—and rightly so. In person, you are in control of how you look and sound, but, when you are online, you are at the mercy of technology, which can make you look good—or very bad. Fortunately, at the recent AAML/BVR Virtual Divorce Conference, valuation experts and attorneys shared their experiences and tips for testifying in a virtual world. Read more >>

Family law attorneys, valuation professionals, and industry experts connected virtually this fall to share advice during the Virtual Divorce Conference brought to you by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and Business Valuation Resources (BVR). Here are the top 10 key takeaways from the many great sessions with top thought leaders in the profession. Read more >>

How do you resolve a divorce case during COVID-19, when many businesses in all kinds of industries are coping with significant losses and continuing uncertainty over future performance? This was the topic of an excellent panel discussion that was part of the recent virtual AAML/BVR divorce conference. Read more >>

Business valuations prepared for divorce purposes can be much more challenging than valuations can be for other purposes because the rules differ among jurisdictions. There are no clear valuation guidelines for divorce in most states. For example, there’s no specific definition of value in state statutes governing divorce. Also, divorce courts exercise a great deal of discretion—even if there is an abundance of judicial precedent (which can be confusing and contradictory). Read more >>

At the recent AAML/BVR divorce conference, held May 8-10 in Las Vegas, one of the sessions that best conveyed the advantages of an interdisciplinary discussion was on ethics. The topic was “Ethics Violations: How to Avoid the Letter No One Wants to Receive,” and the speakers were Marie Ebersbacher (CBIZ MHM LLC), an appraiser and financial forensics expert, and Lawrence Moskowitz (Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller & Moskowitz LLP), a family law attorney. Read more >>

Hundreds of family law attorneys and financial experts converged last week in Las Vegas for the first event the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and Business Valuation Resources (BVR) co-sponsored. Attorneys along with valuation, forensics, wealth and other financial experts co-presented the sessions, which gave invaluable perspectives on the topics. Read more >>

Appraisers working on divorce cases know that goodwill is a fundamental concept they have to master. What makes it challenging is that divorce is a state matter and that different states adhere to different rules as to how to treat goodwill. BVR is excited to offer legal and valuation professionals a handy reference guide that includes a state-by-state breakdown of goodwill jurisprudence Read more >>

The nuances of divorce valuations and testifying in court create difficulties that make divorce engagements especially challenging. Here are 10 "don'ts" to help survive a divorce engagement. You can learn more about these at the AAML/BVR National Divorce Conference in Las Vegas May 8-10. Read more >>

Expert Michelle Gallagher of Adamy Valuation will lead a workshop with Kevin Yeanoplos this May at the AAML/BVR National Divorce Conference to cover the topic of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and alimony. Read more >>

The parties’ dispute over how to classify earnout payments related to the sale of a valuable marital asset recently prompted a split ruling from the Minnesota Supreme Court. The issue was whether those payments were part of the sales consideration, as the wife argued, or represented future compensation to the husband, as the district court found. Read more >>

Join your colleagues and top thought leaders at the highly anticipated AAML/BVR National Divorce Conference in Las Vegas, May 8-10, 2019. This one-of-a-kind event brings together leading matrimonial attorneys and financial experts to share their knowledge and critical insights on cutting-edge topics. Read more >>

There is a split in the valuation community as to the merit of calculation engagements. As we recently reported, some valuators are adamantly opposed to doing them, whereas other appraisers believe that calculation engagements have a rightful place in their tool kit. Read more >>

The overarching issue in a recent Michigan divorce case was appreciation. Did the nonowner spouse (wife) have a right to a portion of the increase in value of her husband’s separate property, an S corporation? A related issue, and one that posed a question of first impression in Michigan, was how to treat the company’s retained earnings. Read more >>

Valuators may think they know all there’s to know about quantifying the appreciation of nonmarital property by using the active versus passive framework. Think again. A recent Florida divorce case illustrates that the premature categorization of assets may lead to an improper valuation. Read more >>

Double dipping is a tricky issue because different states have developed different approaches to it. Valuators specializing in divorce issues must know the controlling case law in the state in which they practice. A recent decision by the Washington state Court of Appeals clarifies its state's analytical framework in a case featuring a successful management consulting business the husband had set up and grown during the marriage. Read more >>

In a Mississippi divorce, the husband's sole-owned fitness training company was the key asset. An accurate valuation was central to achieving an equitable distribution of property, but the parties did not hire experts or even submit much financial information to the trial court. Read more >>

So much for clarity. A recent Tennessee appeals court decision hinged on the issue of whether a marketability discount was appropriate in the valuation of the husband’s interests in three real estate development partnerships. In reviewing the trial court’s analysis, the appeals court suggested that the lower court misunderstood the principle behind DLOM but ultimately upheld the lower court’s findings. The resulting decision leaves valuators in a pickle as to when to apply the discount and at what rate. Read more >>

Following the divorce, the husband filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and asked for confirmation of his plan. The issue was whether the plan could meet the liquidation test applicable under the Bankruptcy Code’s section 1325(a)(4). In essence, the test requires that creditors in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy receive present value payments that are at least equal to the amount the creditors would receive in a Chapter 7 case. Read more >>

Under Arkansas statutory law, the increase in the value of nonmarital property is nonmarital property. But in a line of decisions going back nearly 30 years, the Arkansas Supreme Court created an exception to the statutory rule by way of the active appreciation doctrine, which says that if the growth in value is the result of the owner spouse's efforts, the increase in value is subject to marital distribution. Read more >>