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Whether you were married two years or twenty-five, chances are that you and your spouse have accumulated a lot of “stuff” – furniture, rugs, dishes, knick-knacks, pots and pans. When you separate or divorce, that stuff has to be divided. As you might imagine, no judge or hearing officer wants to spend hours hearing about your pots and pans, their value, and who got them. Here are some principles that […]

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 women to obtain a religious divorce, or “get.” Women whose husbands refuse to grant them a divorce,  known as “agunot” (from the Hebrew word meaning “chained”), cannot remarry in their faith and may be ostracized from their religious communities. Their husbands have learned […]

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 business valuation, if the business owns real estate. In 2011, the U.S. Tax Court issued an opinion addressing real estate valuation in a case where competing experts offered two different methods. Like most Tax Court cases, this opinion involved an owner who had passed away, […]

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 business to the other spouse. Since most small business owners do not have enough cash to pay a lump sum for that share, they might have to make installment payments over months or years. It is critical to structure the divorce settlement […]

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 contemplating divorce are important legal strategy decisions that require thoughtful consideration. Your divorce lawyer can help to assess the risks and possible consequences of those initial decisions. 1.   Move out or stay put? Pennsylvania doesn’t recognize a legal separation as some […]

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 Hagar (11/24/2010), husband and wife purchased a dry cleaning business from a trust established by husband’s parents as part of a business succession plan. Husband and wife agreed to a $300,000 purchase price that was determined by the companies’ accountant. The trust […]