Gross Mendelsohn Blog
A resource to help business owners, nonprofit executives and high net worth families preserve wealth, grow and thrive.
Forensics & Litigation Support
Determining a couple’s income is one of the most critical financial issues in a divorce case. Reviewing the couple’s Form 1040, to start, can help paint a picture of their financial position and lifestyle. Divorce attorneys who know where to look for key information on tax returns can gain an edge over their opponents. Everyone is required to disclose certain information in their tax returns, including total income, wages and alimony received. These numbers can serve as compelling evidence when making a case for identifying and dividing marital assets, proving the existence of hidden assets and determining income for support purposes. Let’s consider what an individual’s personal tax return can reveal, and where to look.
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Business Valuation | Forensics & Litigation Support
Divorce cases where one party owns a closely-held business can create complications in the valuation and division of the marital estate. One of the many questions commonly encountered in Virginia divorce cases involving a closely-held business is, How is an increase in a marital business’s value from the date of separation to trial treated? Frequently, the time between date of separation and trial is more than a year, and sometimes it’s several years. It’s possible that during this time many factors, from changes in business operations to industry changes, could cause the value of the business to increase. Let’s consider how this increase in business value may be treated in Virginia divorce cases.
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Construction & Real Estate | Forensics & Litigation Support | High Net Worth Families | Manufacturing & Distribution | Service Businesses
Barbara Chalmers, 74, pleaded guilty in December 2022 to an embezzlement scheme of at least $29 million over the past decade. Ms. Chalmers was the bookkeeper for a charitable foundation and multiple companies run by the family of Jim Collins, a prominent Dallas businessman and former congressman. The family operates Collins American Capital Corp., International Family Investors LTD and the James M. Collins Foundation. Let’s look at how she did it and the red flags that were missed along the way.
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Business Valuation | Forensics & Litigation Support
The 2000 Grunfeld v. Grunfeld divorce case out of New York is very instructive and packed with valuation insights. Let’s dig into the case, which considers the valuation of a partner’s interest in his law firm, his law license, the potential for double counting of income in determining both spousal support and equitable distribution, and other nuggets.
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Business Valuation | Forensics & Litigation Support
There are many instances when a business valuation report is needed in litigation. During a divorce, if one or both spouses own a business, it may be necessary for the business to be valued for asset distribution purposes. Each party may hire their own business valuation analyst to value the business, and each analyst may come back with very different conclusions as to the value of the business. While differences in value can often be the result of two analysts having justifiable differences of opinion, there sometimes can be something else going on. While most credentialed valuation analysts have high ethical standards, there are some unscrupulous “experts” who will purposefully “rig” their valuation report in order to achieve a desired result in favor of their client. So, how can you spot one of these “rigged” valuation reports?
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Forensics & Litigation Support
When I tell people that I’m a forensic accountant, they sometimes think of Christian Wolff, Ben Affleck’s character in the movie The Accountant. While it’s true that a forensic accountant can use their skills to investigate a company for potential embezzlement, the majority of cases they help attorneys with are far less glamorous.
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