Business valuations, income analyses, and community property tracing for divorce and marital dissolution proceedings under California law — delivered by credentialed experts with deep family law experience.
Request a Confidential ConsultationValuing a business in a California divorce is fundamentally different from a transactional appraisal. The applicable legal standards — from the treatment of goodwill under Marriage of Foster and Marriage of Brandes, to the Pereira and Van Camp methodologies for apportioning community and separate property interests — require an expert who understands both the financial analysis and the legal framework in which it will be applied.
LA Valuations provides expert valuation and financial advisory services to family law attorneys and their clients throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Our work is used in contested divorce proceedings, settlement negotiations, and mediation. We serve both petitioners and respondents with equal diligence and objectivity, and are experienced working alongside high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and executives facing complex marital estates.
Our professionals hold the CFA, CBV, ABV, and CPA designations, with membership in the AICPA, CFA Society, and American Society of Appraisers. They have testified as expert witnesses in California courts and have the experience and composure to deliver clear, defensible analysis under deposition and trial conditions.
Closely held businesses are often the largest — and most contested — assets in a high-asset divorce. Their value is rarely self-evident. It depends on the purpose of the appraisal, the standard of value applied, and a host of analytical judgments that opposing experts frequently disagree on. We prepare valuations that are rigorous, well-documented, and built to withstand challenge.
One of the most contested issues in California divorce valuations is the separation of personal goodwill — which is not a community asset — from enterprise goodwill, which is. We apply a disciplined, case-law-informed analysis to distinguish these components, drawing on the specific facts of the business, the owner's role, covenant-not-to-compete considerations, and market evidence.
When a business was founded or acquired before marriage, or was funded with separate property contributions, the community's interest must be carefully apportioned. We apply the Pereira and Van Camp methodologies to determine the appropriate allocation and document our analysis in a form courts and mediators can follow.
Medical practices, dental offices, law firms, accounting firms, and other professional practices present unique valuation challenges, particularly regarding the personal goodwill of the licensed practitioner. We are experienced in valuing professional practices across a range of disciplines and applying the appropriate California-specific goodwill analysis to each.
We apply the income, market, and asset-based approaches as appropriate to the nature of the business, and reconcile these approaches with a clear rationale for the weighting of each. All reports are prepared in compliance with USPAP and applicable professional standards.
Calculating income available for child and spousal support when one or both parties own or operate a business is one of the most technically complex tasks in a family law matter. Business owners have significant discretion over how and when they take compensation — and opposing experts often reach dramatically different income figures. We provide a thorough, documented analysis that withstands scrutiny.
We reconstruct the actual economic income available to a business-owner spouse by analyzing business tax returns, financial statements, bank records, and other source documents. This includes identifying discretionary expenses, personal expenses run through the business, and other add-backs that inflate reported costs or deflate reported income.
In cases where a party has voluntarily reduced their income, is underemployed, or has structured compensation in a way that understates actual earning capacity, we provide an independent analysis of what the party could reasonably earn. This analysis draws on market compensation data, professional qualifications, and the specific facts of the case.
High-net-worth divorces frequently involve commingled assets, premarital contributions, and complex compensation arrangements that require detailed financial tracing and analysis. We work with counsel to construct a clear, defensible picture of the marital estate.
All inquiries are strictly confidential. We respond within one business day.
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