Maximizing Value in Divorce Cases

In divorce cases, the spouses often have to deal with distribution of assets.  The first question is:  What is “marital property?”  The Divorce Code provides that, with some exceptions, all assets obtained by either or both parties from the date of marriage to the date of separation are marital property.  After marital property is defined, the parties or court must equitably divide the property.

These two steps may be described as:

1.  How big is the pie?

2.  How should the pie be sliced up between the parties?

In a recent case, I assisted a wife in a divorce action in increasing the value of marital property.  In this case, the husband was a 50% shareholder in a closely held corporation.  After the parties separated, the husband’s partner wanted essentially to “divorce” the husband from the business.  He started a proceeding in court to dissolve the corporation.  The husband’s legal team negotiated a deal where the business partner would buy the husband out for a large sum of money.

My Client, the wife, realized that the large sum of money significantly undervalued the husband’s share.  Researching the Divorce Code, I found support for our argument that the sale should not go through for the proposed sale price.  Relying upon the Divorce Code, The Seach Law Offices obtained a temporary injunction from the Court, temporarily halting the sale.  We were able to intervene in the negotiations.  We were able to reach an agreement where the partner agreed to pay 20% more on the sales price.

By intervening in the case, we were able to substantially increase the amount of “marital property” to be divided between the spouses. The parties still need to determine how to divide the pie.  The pie, however, is bigger now.