Opinion ID: 2309425
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: valuation and allocation of business interests

Text: Gordon contends that the divorce court erred in the value it placed on Gordon's business entities, erred in its determination that $400,000 of that value was marital property, and in any event, set aside an excessive portion of that amount to Mary Ann. Although the court excluded certain valuation evidence submitted by Gordon shortly before trial, [4] there was extensive evidence, most in the form of expert testimony, presented by both parties relative to the value of Gordon's business interests. Jack Ketchum, Mary Ann's expert witness, testified that the value of those businesses was $1,300,000. David Hawkes, the expert retained by Gordon, testified to a substantially lower value. The court found the value of all of Gordon's businesses to be $900,000. [5] The court further found that of the $900,000, $400,000 represented the increase in value of the business entities during the marriage and was marital property. Of the $400,000, the court set aside $100,000 to Mary Ann, and $300,000 to Gordon. A divorce court's determination of what property is marital and what is non-marital is reviewed for clear error and will not be disturbed if there is competent evidence in the record to support it. West v. West, 550 A.2d 1132, 1133 (Me.1988). The record discloses no clear error in the court's finding the value of Gordon's businesses to be $900,000. The court correctly recognized that the valuation of closely held business interests is not an exact science. The value determined by the court is within the range of value evidence presented at trial. See Shirley v. Shirley, 482 A.2d 845, 849 (Me.1984) (finding value within range of expert opinion is valid provided conclusion reached through independent view of evidence). We give due regard to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses and weigh the evidence. See Mattson v. Mattson, 376 A.2d 473, 476 (Me.1977); M.R.Civ.P. 52(a). Nor did the court clearly err in finding that $400,000 of the value of the businesses is attributable to their growth during the marriage. There is ample evidence that the businesses grew rapidly during the period of the marriage. Financial statements for Benefit Management, Inc. and Group Marketing Services, Inc. signed by Gordon in 1983 (the year of the marriage) place values on the businesses of $550,000. A 1984 statement gives a value of over $1 million, and a 1988 statement sets a value of over $2 million. The court found that the increase in value of the businesses during the marriage resulted primarily from the efforts of Gordon rather than from the inherent value of the property itself. Such an increase in value of otherwise separate property during the marriage attributable to marital effort is considered marital property subject to distribution. MacDonald v. MacDonald, 532 A.2d 1046, 1049-50 (Me.1987). Gordon's additional contention that the court's finding is based on faulty financial data is unpersuasive, especially in view of Gordon's failure to provide complete and timely financial information in regard to his business interests. Gordon also argues that the $100,000 set aside to Mary Ann from the $400,000 of the value of the businesses found to be marital is excessive. Pursuant to 19 M.R.S.A. § 722-A(1) (1981), the court is directed to divide marital property in such proportions as the court deems just, after considering all relevant factors. Among those factors are the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital property, including the contribution of a spouse as homemaker, (section 722-A(1)(A)), the value of the property set aside to each spouse (section 722-A(1)(B)), and the economic circumstances of each spouse at the time of the division (section 722-A(1)(C)). The court's disposition of marital property is reviewed for abuse of discretion. Axtell v. Axtell, 482 A.2d 1261, 1263 (Me.1984). In this case, in view of the value of property set aside to each spouse, and the disparity in income between the parties, the court's distribution to Mary Ann of an amount equal to twenty-five percent of the value of Gordon's businesses found to be marital property does not constitute an abuse of discretion.