Expert Witnesses and IRS Method for Valuing Businesses
Video Transcript: Oftentimes in divorce, it’s hard enough to assign value to say the marital residence, but what if there is a close corporation or a small business that’s operated during the marriage? How in the world are we going to value that for purposes of equitable property division?
Judges in family law have a broad discretion to set the value of marital assets, but judges for the most part are not corporate accountants and for that matter, neither are attorneys. So how can we get into the corporation and see what will be the value as it will be established in the divorce proceedings?
Well, there are a couple of ways to do that. One way is with expert witnesses. So if we’re not accountants, let’s just go out and find one. This works to both parties’ advantage really because if you have two competing experts testifying as to the value of a certain business, the judge is not going to be able to set the value of that corporation any lower than the experts are testifying.
Another way to do this is with the IRS method for estate and gift taxes. And there are about seven or eight factors involved there. I’m not going to list them all for you, but if this is something that you have in your situation and you want to talk about it, I encourage you to give me a call and come on in for a consultation.
If you’re struggling to assign value to a small business or close corporation during your Oklahoma divorce proceeding, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m Dustin Peterson, the Oklahoma City Divorce Attorney, and I’m here to help. Contact me at 405-888-5400 or visit theoklahomacityattorney.com to schedule your consultation today.
