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Three related issues were addressed by the Superior Court last month in SMC v. WPC, 2012 PA Super 92 (April 24, 2012). First, the Superior Court held that evidence of more...

The Superior Court this week heard the plea of a Vietnam Veteran who argued that the increase in value of his VA benefits, which had been deposited into an investment more...

Resolving a divorce requires a lot of information. The process of exchanging information and documents is formally known as "discovery." Our courts have issued rules that more...

The Superior Court yesterday issued an opinion affirming a trial court's decision to award frozen embyros to the wife as part of her equitable distribution of marital more...

When separated spouses file their income tax returns, they generally have a choice of filing jointly or separately. If they file jointly, they may have to decide how to more...

J.R.M. v. J.E.A., 33 A.3d 647 (Pa.Super.2011) – Mother and Father had a child to their very short term marriage. When the child was an infant, still breastfeeding, Mother more...

LAM v. CR (2012 PA Super 45, February 27, 2012) – Superior Court affirmed decision to allow Mother to relocate from York County to Boston. No majority opinion was issued, more...

In M.O. v. F.W. (2012 PA Super 49, February 28, 2012), the Superior Court considered a case in which custody litigation began even before the child was born. Initially, the more...

In CMK v. KEM (March 27, 2012), the Superior Court took up the case of a mother who followed the notice procedures for custody relocation under the 2011 custody statute. She more...

With a breathtaking sweep of their pens (or keyboards), four Justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week swept away decades of decisional law concerning paternity by more...

A parent who cohabited with her children's father sued for child support and spousal support in 2007. The parents lived together but never got a marriage license or held a more...

Jewish women of the Orthodox faith may encounter obstacles unknown to most women when divorcing. A new documentary film, Women Unchained (2011), explores the plight of Jewish more...

Valuation of commercial real estate and rental properties is an issue that arises in high-asset divorce proceedings. Real estate appraisal is sometimes performed within a more...

The child support guidelines were amended in December 2011, when the Supreme Court Domestic Relations Rules Committee enacted Rule 1910.11(d)(3). The new rule, which is more...

There are many ways to describe a custody arrangement. The new Pennsylvania custody law, enacted in 2011, defines the terms we frequently use in describing more...

The opinions of the U.S. Tax Court in estate valuation cases can be instructive guidance on legal and valuation principles that are equally relevant to divorce cases. A more...

On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has affirmed the conviction of a father who twisted and broke his 7 month-old son's arm. Com. v. more...

Under the Pennsylvania support guidelines, parents (and spouses who are receiving support) may be entitled to receive reimbursement of their medical expenses that were not more...

In a ground-breaking decision, the Pennsylvania Superior Court recently vacated a trial court order refusing to enforce contractual support obligations under a more...

For the third time in several months, a panel of the Superior Court has considered whether to require litigants to plead specific grounds for modification of child support. more...

A recent Superior Court decision, Childress v. Bogosian, 2011 WL 61616 (2011), illustrates the challenge of tracing nonmarital property in divorce. Under Pennsylvania law, more...

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has issued its first decision interpreting the counseling provision of the newly-enacted custody statute. In cases where a parent has been more...

Stare decisis is a central principal of jurisprudence. That's why it's big news when a court explicitly overrules a long-standing precedent. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court more...

When I meet with new clients, I listen to their unique circumstances, inform them about the legal framework in which their case will be resolved, and develop an action plan more...

For the past three years, I have published family law news and analysis on my legal blog. My blog was named BV Source because of my initials and my blog's emphasis on more...

The latest episode of my podcast, Making Divorce Easier, deals with an issue that arises frequently in child support proceedings. Calculating child support requires knowing more...

Last week I posted about methods of paying child support in Pennsylvania. This week I want to highlight a couple of electronic methods of paying child support, which might be more...

"How do I pay my child support?" is a question I am frequently asked by clients. Pursuant to federal and state law, child support orders must be paid via wage attachment more...

Once again this fall, I am the course planner, author and lecturer for the child support portion of Family Law Update, an annual survey of the latest developments in more...

Those who know me know that I encourage settlement. Of course, there are times when we must go to war, but often we end up making peace, sometimes even after a battle or more...

This event was so much fun, I decided to post a picture. Here's me with two members of the Steel City Derby Demons, a Pittsburgh women's roller derby team that competes in more...

The increasing use of electronic communications, from Facebook to text messaging, has challenged our courts to determine what is admissible evidence in family law hearings. more...

The Pennsylvania child support guidelines were modified slightly on August 3, 2011, effective September 3, 2011. 1. Shared Custody Adjustment. The guidelines grant a more...

Child support contempt defendants are not entitled to court-appointed representation even in cases where incarceration is threatened, says the U.S. Supreme Court, but the more...

Last month the Wisconsin Supreme Court weighed in on two issues that are important to family lawyers and their clients who operate professional practices like physicians, more...

In July 2011, the IRS changed its policy that once imposed a two year limit on innocent spouses seeking certain forms of relief from tax penalties and interest caused by more...

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start more...

From my experience as a matrimonial lawyer, I can easily understand my clients' perspective on legal and professional fees.  They want to spend as little as possible, and more...

When business owners get divorced, their settlement may have profound consequences for the business and other owners. Often, one spouse “sells” or gives up a share of the more...

Recently in one of my cases (several, actually), I have encountered complex issues involving military retirement benefits for retired servicemembers. Fortunately, there is a more...

One of the most-respected judges to sit in Family Division here in Allegheny County, Hon. Eugene B. Strassburger, Jr., recently ascended to the Superior Court of more...

In Kent v. Kent (March 18, 2011), the Superior Court of Pennsylvania rejected a parent's argument that she should be entitled to collect alimony for a period of eleven years more...

The initial weeks of a marital separation are probably the most turbulent, uncertain part of the divorce process. The first few choices that spouses must make when they are more...

A recent decision of the Iowa Court of Appeals illustrates the perils of reliance upon industry rules of thumb to value a business in matrimonial litigation. In Marriage of more...

A recent decision by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Smith v. Yusavage (unpublished), got me thinking about the problems surrounding gun ownership for spouses facing more...

My friend Karl Schieneman, who is an expert in the field of electronic discovery and operates a national podcast (ESI-Bytes), got me started this week on my own podcast, more...

The holidays have given me some time to catch up on my overdue reading list. One article I recently caught was Inc. Magazine's November 2010 article on entrepreneurs who more...

Before it adjourned in December, the previous Congress passed a sweeping income tax reform bill designed to extend the Bush tax cuts for a couple more years. One important more...

I recently posted a page containing the power point slides from my 2010 presentation to the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. The conversion from MacBook to PowerPoint to more...

This time of year, nearly every magazine and website is publishing a Best-of-2010 article. I won't buck the trend, because it's a good opportunity to review the interesting more...

In Balicki v. Balicki, 2010 Pa.Super.134 (2010), the Superior Court affirmed the trial court's decision to discount the value of an insurance business, based on the more...

In a surprise vote earlier this week, the Pennsylvania House passed HB1639, the sweeping custody reform legislation that has been held up in committee for nearly ten years. more...

It can be frustrating to obtain records from large, decentralized financial institutions like Bank of America. You can send them an authorization signed by their customer, more...

Parents who are experiencing divorce may be confused about how to deal with savings that have been set aside for their children's college educations. The most common methods more...

In business, they say, cash flow rules. The same principle is true, I find, in divorce. I have been brainstorming a set of cash flow "rules" for divorcing spouses. Here is more...

I am pleased to announce that U.S. News & World Reports, in conjunction with The Best Lawyers in America, has named my law firm, Pollock Begg Komar Glasser LLC, as one of more...

OK. It's Friday afternoon, late in the summer, and perhaps my judgment is off but I thought this was amusing. University research scientists in the UK have published a study more...

A recent post on BVLaw (culled from the materials for the BVR Summit on Business Valuation in Divorce, going on now in Chicago) reminds us that pre-trial discovery and more...

In Re Miller, 424 B.R. 171 (M.D. Pa. 2010) Wife/Debtor filed a chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, in which she attempted to classify an “income maintenance award” of more...

Last year I had the privilege of attending the BVR/Morningstar Summit on Best Practices in Business Valuation in Divorce, which will be held this month in Chicago. more...

My firm PBKG LLC is proud to announce that five of our partners (David Pollock, Todd Begg, Candice Komar, Dan Glasser and Brian Vertz) have been named to the 2011 edition of more...

In Balicki v. Balicki, 2010 PA Super. 134 (July 30, 2010), the Superior Court considered the husband's argument that the alimony order provided more income to his ex-wife more...

[This is a re-post of a popular article that I wrote and published a year ago on this site.  ~BCV] It’s never easy to take the first step on any journey. When you are more...

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled recently that agreements between spouses who plan to continue their marriage but wish to define their legal rights and more...

News stories were posted today on CNN.com and VanityFair.com claiming that a growing number of people are using Facebook to cheat on their spouses.... and getting caught! more...

My friends at Crawford Ellenbogen LLC  know a lot about taxes. One of their principals, Victor Dozzi CPA, recently sent me a great tip about kids who are earning income from more...

A thorny issue that arises early in many divorce proceedings is the question of who may live in the marital residence during the separation period. Generally speaking, the more...

An article in the ABA Journal this month focuses attention on the growing problem of international child support and custody disputes. With the advent of global travel more...

In Pennsylvania, marital property is divided in a process known as equitable distribution. The method prescribed by the Divorce Code is a "dual classification" equitable more...

Divorcing spouses often ask me about credit card debts and loans. While a divorce court may assign responsibility for paying credit card debts and loans that were incurred more...

The advance sheets have been cold lately, so let's take a brief look at New York's recent effort to pass a no-fault divorce law. New York is the fiftieth and last state to more...

A New York Times columnist, The Ethicist, recently published a question from a divorcing spouse, pondering whether it was ethical to keep quiet about errors that a judge or more...

While doing research on corporate control issues recently, I came across the following article, published by The Wilmington Trust, a venerable private wealth management more...

The Colorado Supreme Court, in Marriage of Thornhill (June 1, 2010), held that it would not mandate the "fair value" standard for valuation of business in divorce more...

Yesterday, I posted a summary of Abbott v. Abbott, 530 U.S. ___ (May 17, 2010), in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that a Chilean non-relocation order was a "right of more...

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling on Monday in an international custody case governed by the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of  International Child Abduction. In more...

The Jon and Kate divorce provided another example this week of what to do - and what not to do - in divorce situations. The Gosselins were ordered this week to attend more...

Texas has once again proven itself to be a haven for the affluent divorcee. In Mandell v. Mandell, 2010 WL 1006406 (March 18, 2010), the Texas Court of Appeals held that a more...

A former client recently asked me to prepare a cohabitation agreement. It was heartening to hear about her successful new relationship after a tough divorce. It had been a more...

A decision issued two weeks ago makes South Carolina the latest state to overturn its laws granting child support to college students. In Webb v. Sowell (April 19, 2010), the more...

In Murphy v. Murphy, a recent Superior Court decision, the father appealed a support order entered in absentia because he claimed that he never received notice of the June more...

In the recent Superior Court decision, Castadi v. Castaldi, the Domestic Relations Section mailed notices to the child's mother inquiring whether child support should more...

An article published recently in USA Today reports that prenuptial agreements are more acceptable today to couples who are engaged than at any time in the past. Nearly more...

Two articles from BV Wire recently caught my attention. Both deal with business valuation in divorce cases where personal goodwill was an issue. I will post my own analysis more...

A link on How Appealing alerted me to a recent decision of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, finding that a person has a right of privacy from being videotaped while alone in a more...

An issue that befuddles some business owners during the course of their divorce litigation is how to regulate the operation and management of their businesses. In cases where more...

For each of the past four years, I have been privileged to teach lawyers about the latest developments in child support as one of the hosts of Family Law Update, a satellite more...

Pittsburgh ranks #325 and Philadelphia ranks #360 in a recent survey of the wealthiest American cities, conducted by Portfolio.com, a website operated by American Business more...

The South Carolina Family Law Blog contains a great list of frequently-overlooked or hidden assets in divorce. Some of the more interesting items are: 1.Frequent flyer more...

What factors inflence a spouse's eligibility for alimony after divorce under Pennsylvania law? Under Pennsylvania law, post-divorce alimony “is a secondary remedy . . . more...

Parents who are paying or receiving child support under the Melzer formula for high-income cases (where the parents' combined net incomes is over $20,000 per month) should more...

The Guardian ran a news story today about a London department store where they've established a new kind of gift registry .... for divorcees. Perceptively, the Debenhams more...

A new application developed for iPhone - ironically called iTrust - records the keystrokes of an unwitting interloper when the application is activated. For the price of a more...

A recently-issued IRS ruling (Rev.Rul.2008-41) addressed the issue of whether a charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT) or charitable remander unitrust (CRUT) can be more...

This time each year, divorce lawyers everywhere face the same question from clients: are my legal fees are tax-deductible? For guidance on the subject, I turn to the more...

A constellation of Rising Stars has ascended! My law firm, Pollock Begg Komar Glasser LLC, is proud to announce that four of our associates - Stephanie Jablon, Dana Levine, more...

For months now we have been telling our clients that a change in the child support guidelines was imminent. On January 12, 2010, our predictions were realized: the more...

[This post originally appeared on BV Source in July 2009.] It’s natural to feel sad about divorcing. A marital separation or divorce can bring changes that cause stress or more...

[This post originally appeared on BV Source in November 2009.] The winter holidays can be fun and relaxing, but at times they can also be stressful or disappointing. The more...

I am pleased to announce another Superior Court success story, which will be published soon. In Gaboury v. Gaboury, the wife left the marital residence in Wisconsin and moved more...

My friend Cheryl Hepfer appeared on a recent episode of the ABC News program "Nightline" to discuss how marital cheaters are being caught these days: their racy text more...

The Supreme Court of North Dakota has been asked to decide whether breast implants should be identified as marital property and valued for divorce purposes. Clearly, the more...

The Chicago Sun-Times, Huffington Post, and The Daily Beast are reporting that Elin Nordegren, the wife of golfing billionaire Tiger Woods, is demanding that Woods more...

News sources are reporting (here and here) that Italian prime minister and TV-network billionaire Silvio Berlusconi may be facing an alimony obligation as great as $65 more...

The winter holidays can be fun and relaxing, but at times they can also be stressful or disappointing. The downside of the holiday season is a special challenge for families more...

A series of articles published last month in Working Mother magazine claims that men who seek custody of their children in contested divorces are winning just as often as more...

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania will be publishing my successful result in Mackay v. Mackay (2009), a case in which a parent attempted to enforce a casual conversation more...

During the statewide broadcast of PBI's Family Law Update today, my colleague David Ladov asked me to post the features that a marital settlement agreement would have to more...

I have added a new page to my site with links to the official Pennsylvania child support calculator, published by the Pennsylvania Automated Child Support Enforcement System more...

Each year I am one of the broadcast presenters for Family Law Update, one of the most-watched legal education courses for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. We make live more...

My friend from the East, Michael Viola, publishes a great divorce blog that occasionally chronicles the divorce of Jon and Kate Gosselin (which has been playing out in more...

There is a widely-circulated article on the 'Net called "Seven Myths About Divorce," attributed to Dr. Orli Peter. It is published here and here. I recently corresponded with more...

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania granted reargument en banc to the litigants in Silver v. Pinskey (2009), to consider whether Pennsylvania's child support law might be more...

Back in the days before the no-fault divorce law was passed, unhappy spouses had to prove abuse, infidelity, abandonment, or other grounds for a divorce. It wasn't easy to more...

This weekend I attended the second annual Divorce Summit sponsored by Business Valuation Resources, one of the leading publishers in the bizval field. On Thursday, September more...

  The California Court of Appeal's decision in Marriage of Blazer (2009) dealt not only with double dipping, but also with the exclusion of a company's retained earnings more...

BVWire.com reported this week on a recent California case where the issue of double dipping was examined in the context of divorcing business owners: The husband owned a more...

Note: this decision was originally published on April 17, 2009, reaching a different result. It was re-argued en banc, and the final decision issued on August 21, 2009. If more...

This week I reviewed a recent decision by one of our Allegheny County judges, regarding modification of child support. Kozel v. Kozel, No. FD98-00761 (Allegheny Co., June 30, more...

The Pennsylvania Divorce Code says that the court must consider the homemaker's contribution. When representing a stay-at-home spouse, it may be helpful to prove that the more...

The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently held that a business owner's spouse who signed a buy-sell agreement was bound by the value in a divorce action. In Inzer (2009), the more...

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania held, once again, that the budget is the most important element of a Melzer child support case -- that is, a high-income case where the more...

Local professional wrestler and former Olympian Kurt Angle has been charged with violation of a Protection from Abuse (PFA) order. His lawyer says that the charges are more...

The Superior Court recently considered the case of Murphy v. McDermott (2009), in which the Court was asked to consider whether the unmarried father of a child should be more...

In Krebs v. Krebs (“Krebs II”), 2009 WL 1759726 (Pa.Super. 2009), the Superior Court of Pennsylvania considered whether to award legal fees to a parent who won more...

In divorce litigation where one of the spouses owns a professional practice, such as a medical practice, dental practice, law firm or accounting firm, the lawyers and their more...

An article was posted recently on credit.com on the subject of joint debts in divorce. It is one of the most frequently-asked questions: "How will divorce affect my credit?" more...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently took up the case of Menard v. Commissioner, 560 F.3d 620 (2009), considering whether the CEO of a privately-held more...

Years ago, a wise lawyer published a column in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to advise her readers about family law issues (Patricia G. Miller, Esq., "Legal Eagle"). In one of more...

Tracing is a method of identifying nonmarital property so that it will be preserved as nonmarital property and not divided in the process of equitable distribution. In more...

It’s never easy to take the first step on any journey. When you are facing a marital separation, there are five things that you can do to protect yourself, financially and more...

Gallows humor is intended to comfort us in troubling times, I suppose. An article in the New York Times offered a new definition of "goodwill" appropriate to the ongoing more...

It’s natural to feel sad about divorcing. A marital separation or divorce can bring changes that cause stress or discomfort, at least for a while. Yet, recent research by a more...

I will be appearing as the host of an upcoming Pennsylvania Bar Institute seminar, Business Valuation and Divorce. My guests will be Bob Grossman CPA and Melissa Bizyak CPA more...

Here is an interesting issue, not yet resolved by the Pennsylvania courts: whether the proceeds of a life insurance death benefit may be counted as a marital asset. Here's more...

This is the last in a series of posts containing summaries of Pennsylvania case law on the issue of double dipping in divorce. "Double dipping" occurs when an more...

For decades, the law of Pennsylvania has been clear: the estate of a deceased parent has no obligation to pay child support for minor children in the absence of an agreement. more...

BVWire recently published a follow-up to its teleconference, Valuing Dental Practices, by raising a question about business valuation using the excess earnings method (also more...

This is the fourth in a series of posts containing summaries of Pennsylvania case law on the issue of double dipping in divorce. "Double dipping" occurs when an more...

One of my favorite email blasts, BVWire (published by BVResources), described several free resources that might interest professionals who are interested in the value of more...

Fox 5 New York is reporting today that my friend and co-anchor of the Family Law Update TV broadcast, Cheryl Young, is representing Kate Gosselin in her divorce from "Jon more...

Personally, I haven't joined Facebook yet. Lots of my friends and family have sent me invitations, and I feel bad declining them, but I've seen what happens there, and I'm more...

This is the third in a series of posts containing summaries of Pennsylvania case law on the issue of double dipping in divorce. "Double dipping" occurs when an more...

Columnist Amy Feldman wrote an interesting article in this week's Business Week entitled, "When to Take the Money." June 30 is the deadline for executives to decide whether more...

In Pennsylvania, child support is based on the net incomes of the parents, so it shouldn't be difficult to figure, right? Um, wrong.  It might seem as simple as looking at a more...

Asking your fiance for a prenup doesn't have to spoil the joy of your engagement. Personal finance experts agree that prenuptial agreements are an effective way for couples more...

The current economic recession has had a profound adverse impact on many businesses. So, in cases where we are asked to value businesses on a valuation date prior to the more...

The concept of a “double dip” is logical and intuitive. If an income-producing asset has been awarded to a party in equitable distribution, the same asset cannot be more...

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a decision (highlighted by Carsten Hoffman's FMVOpinions) affirming a tiny fractional interest discount applied to a more...

A fun story about a New York wife who needs $53,000 - per week! - in support from her husband, the former United Technologies chairman George David. Well, she's a countess, more...

Apparently the new frontier in divorce litigation is personal goodwill. Following closely on the heels of May (W.Va.2003) and other divorce decisions, the Supreme Court of more...

The forensic accounting firm of Stout Risius Ross Advisors LLC has published an excellent guide to year-end tax questions that separated and divorcing spouses may have: 1.) more...

The Alabama Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion in Grelier v. Grelier, holding that the parties' agreement to employ the fair market value standard in a divorce case more...

An interesting, and perhaps unanswered, question which may arise in a child support modification proceeding is, "Can the court award legal fees to the prevailing party?" more...

A recent decision issued by Florida's intermediate appellate court, Craissati v. Craissati, amply demonstrates the importance of good contract writing skill. The husband and more...

So, what happens when you discover that your spouse has been having an affair (or, more precisely, your spouse's avatar has been having an affair) on Second Life? Well, more...

 Pennsylvania has jurisdiction over its own citizens as well as those who have signficant contacts with our state. The law that extends Pennsylvania's jurisdiction over more...

At the Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law Section Winter Meeting 2009, which took place at the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh this weekend, a panel of judges, lawyers more...

A recent news item by Jen Chung on Gothamist reports that a New York doctor is demanding that his estranged wife return the kidney he donated to her during their more...

From an article called, "January 12 is D-Day for Divorce" by Emily McCombsTis the season to be jolly! But did you know that it's immediately followed by the season to ditch more...

It's been a while since I have posted, mainly because I am planning a relaunch of this blog with new features and new contributors. Watch this space for a new, exciting more...

In Shadle v. Shadle (108 PDDRR 102), a Bucks County divorce decision, the main issue was the valuation of an HVAC contracting business owned by the husband. The contracting more...

Chris Mercer's Value Matters newsletter offered a succinct summary of the Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in Jelke v. Com., an important decision dealing with built-in more...

This post is the second in a series dedicated to historical legal precedents on business valuation in Pennsylvania. The factual background for this case, Glosser Bros., is more...

This post is the first of series aimed at reviewing the historical legal decisions concerning business valuation in Pennsylvania. Since these are state court cases, most more...

A recent edition of Value Matters, a periodical published by Mercer Capital Group, illustrates the reasons for having a buy-sell agreement and what options might be more...

In Wilson v. Wilson, 2008 WL 2312726 (Ky.App.2008), a man started a mortgage brokerage business with his high school sweetheart in 2004. Soon the business blossomed, and so more...

The typical "war of experts" was presented in Bussa v. Bussa, 2008 WL 2117138 (Mich.App.), a 2008 unpublished decision of the Michigan Court of Appeals. In this case, the more...

An intriguing article, published recently by BVR on its BVWire blast email, reminds us that executive compensation is one of the most important components of a business more...

In Parker v. Parker, 980 So.2d 323 (Miss.App. 2008), the Mississippi Court of Appeals held that the trial court should not have ordered a judicial sale of businesses that more...

Last month the U.S. Tax Court released its memorandum opinion in Astleford v. Com. (TC Memo 2008-128), a case dealing with the minority and marketability discounts applicable more...

In Evenson, a recent decision of the North Dakota Supreme Court, the business which was implicated in a divorce action was an insurance agency. The business owner sold more...

The Supreme Court of West Virginia recently considered the enterprise goodwill of a professional practice in divorce proceedings in Helfer v. Helfer, 221 W.Va. 625, 656 more...

I may have mentioned this before on this blog, but it is striking to me how many accountants and valuational professionals regard court decisions as monolithic. At NACVA more...

A recent Florida divorce decision, Erp v. Erp, considered the valuation of an RV dealership acquired by the husband and wife during their marriage. The dealership was more...

Just a reminder that I have posted two of my most recent PowerPoint presentations - Child Support, Spousal Support and Alimony Pendente Lite from PBI's 2007 Family Law Update more...

Last week I attended the AICPA/AAML National Conference on Divorce, a summit of some of the brightest minds in business valuation and divorce. Many of the lectures were good, more...

Whether attacking or defending your expert's business valuation in a divorce trial, it is important to know and avoid the eight landmines that can blow up your more...

The statutory and rules definitions of “income,” as provided by 23 Pa.C.S. § 4302 and Pa.R.C.P. 1910.16-2(a) include “gains derived from dealings in property” (§ more...

Minnesota's intermediate court recently clarified the distinction between active appreciation in the value of premarital property, which is considered marital property under more...

In Silver v. Silver, a 2007 decision of the Ohio Court of Appeals, Second Division, the court discussed a business owner's income for support purposes in conjunction with a more...

The Pennsylvania Superior Court's 2007 decision in Dalrymple v. Kilishek is relatively unremarkable from a valuation perspective. The subject business was a private more...

For those of you who asked for a copy of my PointPoint slides, I am posting them below at the bottom of this page. They are embedded through SlideShare.net, where you can more...

According to the Pittsburgh Business Times:The Dallas Cowboys are the NFL's most valuable franchise, according to Forbes magazine's annual ranking of NFL teams.Forbes values more...

From a recent news report:LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A judge has ordered a man to continue paying alimony to his ex-wife -- even though she's in a registered domestic more...

TaxProf Blog reports on a Tax Court decision in which the former wife of an accountant won equitable relief from joint and several liability under section 6015(f) of the more...

It's hard to believe an entire month got away from me without a blog posting. I realized it when I saw this article in Forbes magazine, describing the top 10 most expensive more...

In a recent California decision, Marriage of Fry, the California Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision to accept the business valuation offered by a joint more...

At last! the conclusion of the story. Here is the law of other states, which like Pennsylvania, hold that a breach of a prenuptial agreement does not render the entire more...

Surprisingly, no one ever posted an entry on Wikipedia, the internet encyclopedia, to describe business valuation techniques. So I did!Like all Wiki entries, it is a work in more...

Lots of topics have attracted my interest lately, so I will be posting on the following subjects over the next few weeks:Does a Breach of a Prenuptial Agreement Create a more...

Earlier this week I posted the introduction to this post, in which I examined the cases from Pennsylvania and other jurisdictions that lead me to believe that a breach does more...

In Pennsylvania, under the long-standing authority of Simeone v. Simeone, 525 Pa. 392, 581 A.2d 162 (1990), premarital agreements are inviolate unless there has been a lack more...

I heard about it, and read about it (thanks, Death&Taxes!), but I didn't see the episode of the TV series 30 Rock when Jack and his wife Bianca settled their divorce. The more...

The Tennessee Court of Appeals issued a decision in May 2006 that addresses the lingering question of whether gains from the sale of marital property may be included in more...

The mid-winter blahs have slowed down my posting. Hopefully this little gem will prime the pump. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:Man accused of giving severed kitten's head more...

A recent California divorce decision, Marriage of Ackerman (2006), has been hailed by BVWire as the "Mandelbaum of reasonable compensation cases." Yet, it is still unclear more...

I have had some trouble getting online since Blogger upgraded from beta, but I'm back! I'll be posting later this week to discuss a California divorce decision that some are more...

Mercer Capital's newsletter Value Matters recently published an article which points out a dilemma faced by valuation professionals in appraising businesses that have taken more...

An IRS Private Letter Ruling (No. 200646003) clarifies the law with respect to the tax treatment of stock options that are distributed by constructive trust in divorce to the more...

Short week: happy Thanksgiving! FamilyLaw Prof Blog reports on a New York State case in which a divorce lawyer was held liable for the client's loss resulting from a delay in more...

A fun and entertaining discussion of the premarital agreement signed by Britney Spears and Kevin Federline (not to mention their "faux wedding") is posted more...

The courts continue to march away from the practice, widely-accepted in the valuation community, of tax-affecting passthrough earnings in business valuation. Following in the more...

The recent edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers contains an interesting article describing various approaches to personal and enterprise more...

On the PBI "Family Law Update" satellite broadcast yesterday, I said that I would post the citations to the cases that were not included in the written materials. Here they more...

From the TaxProf Blog:Shari Motro (Richmond) has published A New "I Do": Towards a Marriage-Neutral Income Tax, 91 Iowa L. Rev. 1509 (2006).Here is the abstract:The federal more...

One of the long-standing principles of evidence is the rule that restricts the courts from hearing the testimony of legal experts as witnesses who can explain the law. The more...

The National Litigation Consultants' Review this month contains a terrific article about depreciation addbacks in the context of income calculations for child support. Since more...

In Haentjens, a 2004 decision of the Pennsylvania Superior Court, the husband inherited a minority interest in a family business around the mid-point of his 20 year marriage. more...

A New York court dismissed a wife's attempt to invalidate a divorce settlement which was reached while the business owner was simultaneously negotiating the sale of the more...

The TaxProf Blog reported an interesting story about a husband who failed to report his share of passthrough income from the medical billing company that he and his estranged more...

In Baker v. Baker (2004), a predecessor to the Smith case reported previously in this blog, the Superior Court considered the intangible goodwill value of a veterinary more...

A hot topic confronting the valuation community these days is whether to discount the earnings or cash flows of a Subchapter "S" corporation by subtracting the more...

In Smith v. Smith, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ventured into the murky waters of goodwill, an intangible element of business value. Goodwill may be derived from the more...

Welcome to BVSource, a blog about business valuation and divorce. In the coming weeks, I hope to begin a dialogue about current and recurring issues that are of interest to more...