Elliott v. Elliott
Trial court errs by valuing the husband’s minority interest in a family held limited liability corporation by reference to the underlying real property, when there was no evidence that the husband could access the property or its income.
In re Marriage of Hashemian
California approves excess earnings and “formula” approach to valuing atypical life insurance firm, based on industry compensation and revenue data.
Experts Differ by Less Than 50% in Statutory Value of CPA Firm
Court confirms fair value determination of CPA firm based on income, market, and asset-based approaches; a former buy-in transaction concerning the same firm; and a non-compete agreement that effectively transferred personal goodwill to the enterprise.
Doc Leaves Practice Just Before Divorce, Says Buy-Sell Limits Value
Court rejects doctor’s claims that by departing from medical practice just before divorce, his $15,000 buy-sell payout limits practice value, crediting instead a net asset value, adjusted for routine quarterly bonuses.
Five Experts Argue Over Using Subsequent Events in Valuing Software Company
Court approves use of comparable sales data in valuing high-tech startup company, even though comparable transactions took place within one year after the valuation date.
Kentucky Struggles With Majority Rule to Value Goodwill in Divorce
Kentucky court finds personal goodwill value of the husband’s 25% interest in a regional anesthesiology practice to be negligible.
O'Donnell-States v. States
Trial court did not err in valuing dental practice at an amount less than the husband's prior buy-in value; and did not improperly include personal goodwill value when neither expert included its value ...
Vanzant v. Vanzant
Appellate court reverses trial court’s valuation of the parties’ liquor business, finding that it apparently “split the difference” between the parties’ valuations without sufficient evidence in the record to support this median value.
In re Marriage of Erpelding
Appellate court confirms trial court’s discounting of hog confinement facilities based on testimony of industry expert regarding “troubled” state of the industry; and further, it appropriately excluded considerations of tax consequences.
Campbell v. Campbell
Appellate court affirms trial court finding that expert who relied on “estimates” of asset value, provided by the husband with an unreliable memory, was not credible.
Davidson v. Davidson (II)
Trial court did not err by excluding proffered appraisal expert; even though he had 30 years of accounting and real estate experience, he lacked a college degree and had never been qualified as a BV expert.
Post-Bernier Court Prefers DCF to Value Hedge Fund, Plus Tax Affects
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rejects direct capitalization method for valuing hedge fund partnership interest, finding DCF method is more appropriate, plus tax-affecting.
Second Post-Bernier Court Says Income Approach May Be Preferred, But Not Exclusive
Massachusetts court precludes discounts in valuing marital business in divorce, and says that while income approach is preferred, net asset value may be appropriate in the absence of determinable market value.
McReath v. McReath (II)
Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds the standard that all saleable goodwill in a professional practice, as evidenced by a non-competition agreement, is a divisible marital asset; and that it is not “double-counting” to base a maintenance award on the income p ...
Accounts Receivable Supply Minimum Value for Neurosurgery Practice
Divorce court values medical practice based solely on accounts receivable, largely due to lack of evidence and cooperation from owner-spouse.
K.B.R. v. E.P.R.
Trial court accepts value of lending corporation based on “weighted average collectability” of outstanding loans, adjusted downward for economic uncertainties and default status of loans.
Keil v. Keil
Appellate court finds "key man" discount duplicative when trial court already adopted a value that accounted for the business’s dependency on its sole owner.
McRae v. McRae
Court finds that net asset value of healthcare software company includes undeposited earnings, despite husband’s contention that the check was for future services.
Divorce Court Discredits Uncertified Appraisal for Small Trucking Business
Divorce court declines to credit “uncertified” business appraisal by CPA who reviewed only tax returns and Excel spreadsheets, without considering business’s assets and debts, sources of revenues and customer relationships.
Garman v. Garman
Court rejects doctor’s claims that by departing from medical practice just before divorce, his $15,000 buy-sell payout limits practice value, crediting instead a net asset value, adjusted for routine quarterly bonuses.