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At What Date Do We Value the Business?
In most states, the business will generally be valued at the trial date, unless there is
a good reason for using another date.
So if, for example, the operator of the business has run it into the ground since the
separation, the court might use the separation date (when the value was higher) to value the business.
If, on the other hand, the business has soared since separation thanks to the efforts of one spouse,
the court might reward the hard-working spouse by using the separation
date, with its lower value, as the date the business is valued.
Van Goe has a house painting business. Before
the separation, the business is worth $100,000. In
the six months after the separation, Van fails to show up at several customer sites, and he fails
to pursue any new jobs. The business's reputation suffers. By the trial date, the business is
worth only $40,000, if that. If the judge uses the business's value at trial, Van's wife Sunflower would
receive only $20,000. But if the judge uses the business's value at separation, Sunflower would
receive $50,000. In a case like this, a judge might use the earlier date, with a brighter outcome
for Sunflower.
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