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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” (§ 4302) or “net income from business or dealings in property” (Pa.R.C.P. 1910.16-2). Neither the statute nor the rules specifically mention “capital gains.” Under the Internal Revenue Code, a “capital gain” is the gain realized upon the sale or exchange of a species of property known […]

Minnesota’s intermediate court recently clarified the distinction between active appreciation in the value of premarital property, which is considered marital property under Minnesota law, and passive appreciation, which is separate property, in In Re Marriage of Ellingson (2007). The subject business was a custom kitchen cabinetry manufacturer and installer, which the husband began prior to the parties’ marriage. Under relevant case law in Minnesota, active appreciation is defined as increase […]

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 business valuation for equitable distribution purposes. The husband was the sole shareholder of a marketing business, which was marital property subject to equitable distribution. Both spouses offered expert reports and testimony as to income and business valuation. While husband’s expert averaged […]

The Pennsylvania Superior Court’s 2007 decision in Dalrymple v. Kilishekis relatively unremarkable from a valuation perspective. The subject business was a private investigation firm owned by the husband, which was the chief marital asset. Apparently its assets, which were valued at $45,000 as of the date of separation, were mostly or entirely dissipated by the time of trial. Since there were few or no assets left to distribute, the trial […]

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 also find my presentations from 2006 Family Law Update (PBI) and 2007 Tax Issues that Family Lawyers Care About (National Constitution Center).

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 the Cowboys at $1.5 billion, a 28 percent increase from the previous year. The Washington Redskins, who held the top spot for the past seven years, fell to No. 2, with only a 3 percent increase in value to $1.47 billion. The Cowboys overtook […]