How Do I Determine the Value of a Business?

At The Law Offices of Judith A. Wayne & Associates. Wayne, we have extensive experience in divorce cases involving complex property issues. This experience includes numerous divorces involving the ownership of businesses and the ownership of professional practices.

We take a comprehensive approach to the task of valuation, seeking to gain a true understanding of the value of the business, including any hidden assets or liabilities such as tax debts and tax loss carryforwards. With more than 30 years of experience in cases involving complex property division issues, attorney Judith A. Wayne has the resources and advocacy skills you need.

Call us to schedule a consultation. We serve clients throughout Massachusetts from as far west as Pittsfield and as far east as Cape Cod and the Islands, including the Boston area, Marblehead and the North Shore.

Valuing a Business — Issues and Challenges

There are recognized procedures and guidelines that are used when valuing a business. In the Boston area, there are numerous business valuation specialists who can perform this task for a set fee. But all business valuation professionals are the same. In your case, we will choose a trusted business specialist who is experienced and knows how to dig deeply into the business’ finances, operations, market position and other critical factors such as:

• The value of the physical plant and assets

• Tax liabilities and credits

• The value of the underlying real estate

• Intellectual property assets such as trademarks, patents or business processes

• Liabilities such as underfunded pension plans

• Good will

• Other factors that can affect the value of the business

Valuing a Professional Practice

While similar in some respects to business valuation, the task of valuing a professional practice presents some unique challenges versus those used to value a bricks-and-mortar business. Because the primary profit driver in most professional practices is the earning power of the professional, different issues must be considered. These include the stage of the professional’s career, how close he or she is to retirement, and the residual value of the practice’s hard assets, customer list and good will. In addition, if the other spouse contributed to the support of the professional while he or she was in graduate school, that fact must be considered as well.

When representing you, our law firm can retain the services of a business valuation professional who specializes your particular type of practice, whether that is dentistry, accounting, architecture, law, medicine or some other field. Our goal will be to determine a realistic valuation of the practice that is defensible at trial, if that becomes necessary.