Blog

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 jointly-owned collection of paintings. In Stone vs. U.S. (2009), the district court rejected the opinion of the estate’s expert, who testified in favor of a 44% fractional interest discount, citing the expert’s “total lack of experience with the art market; the dissimilar motives driving purchasers to acquire […]

We are pleased to announce that five partners (David S. Pollock, Todd M. Begg, Candice L. Komar, Daniel H. Glasser, and Brian C. Vertz) have been selected once again as 2010 Super Lawyers® for family law. What is a Super Lawyer? Thomson Reuters and Philadelphia Magazine conduct an annual survey of all Pennsylvania lawyers who have been licensed for five years or more. The magazine staff conducts its own research […]

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, after all.

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 Kentucky held recently that the non-transferrable goodwill of a professional practice was properly excluded from the marital estate. The subject business in Gaskill v. Robbins (2/17/09) was an oral surgery practice, operated by the wife, without associate professionals. The wife’s expert presented an asset-based valuation, […]

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.) What is my filing status for 2008? Your filing status is determined as of the last day of the calendar year. You are considered unmarried for the whole year if, on the last day of your tax year, you are unmarried or legally […]

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 precluded wife from arguing on appeal that the trial court should not have applied marketability and minority discounts. In Grelier, the parties appointed a neutral expert to determine the value of the husband’s business, a retail and commercial real estate development […]