When married couples pursue a divorce, the business is often the largest marital asset.  The situation is often complicated by the fact that, as a privately held entity, there is no readily available market pricing for the shares.  

 

Using a valuation expert to determine the value of the business is often the only way to get an accurate value for the assets.  

 

• Determine the Standard of Value for the specific state whether it's Fair Value, Fair Market Value or Investment Value

• Determine the Premise of Value (Going Concern or Liquidation)

• Determine the Allocation of Personal Goodwill and Enterprise Goodwill

• Thorough and well documented report serves as framework for negotiations

• Use independent, third party opinion to mitigate conflict

 

 

Our Experience in Divorce Business Valuations

 

Our professionals have worked on a wide range of business valuations for divorce proceedings.  Ranging from business appraisals for high conflict situations to business appraisals for collaborative proceedings, we'll be more than happy to help guide you through this portion of the process.  

 

Contested vs. Collaborative

 

WVG works in both contested scenarios and collaborative divorce proceedings.  In contested proceedings it is common for both sides to hire their own appraiser.  In a collaborative proceeding both parties will often agree on the selection of a single appraiser.   

 

Goodwill and its Impact on Value

 

Goodwill (sometimes referred to as "blue sky") is the value attributed to the intangible assets of the business.  These may include the name, the location, intellectual property, customer lists, etc.  In divorce situations, depending on your state, we may be asked to allocate a portion of the overall value to "personal goodwill" - or the value that is directly attributable to a working shareholder.  Be sure to discuss this in advance with your valuation analyst.