Buying or selling a business? While the question of value will be the focus of the transaction, there are a number of other factors which, if not handled properly, can complicate or derail your purchase or sale. Do you have a signed non-disclosure agreement? A letter of intent? Have you considered the tax consequences of the deal structure? Should you pay cash or use an earn-out provision?

The professionals at Valuation Resource Group, LLC can help you determine the value of the business that is being bought or sold and work with you to select a team of experienced professionals to ensure a smooth transaction.

If you make a gift of a business interest with a value in excess of the annual gift tax exclusion limit ($14,000 in 2015) to any person other than your spouse, you will have to file Form 709. Generally speaking, the Internal Revenue Service has up to three years to challenge the value that you assign to the gifted property. However, this three year clock does not start if you fail to include a detailed description of how the gift was valued or a qualified business appraisal.

There are numerous factors that can influence the value of a gifted interest in a business. A highly scrutinized aspect of gift-related valuations is the discounts applied for lack of control and lack of marketability. Tax court cases, such as Knight v. Comm’r, 115 T.C. 506 (2000), have made it clear that these discounts must be grounded in fact specific comparisons, rather than mere recitations of statistics from various studies.

Valuation Resource Group, LLC can help you select a team of tax, real estate, and other professionals necessary to develop an estate planning strategy and establish defensible gift valuations.

More than 1 million married couples are divorced each year. If one of the divorcing couple is a business owner, the non-owner spouse may be entitled to some portion of the value of the business. In litigated divorces, business appraisers should be familiar with the discovery process and be capable of working with court mandated deadlines. Valuation Resource Group’s appraisers have completed several hundred appraisals in divorce proceedings, working with attorneys across New York State and throughout the United States to manage discovery, prepare affidavits, and draft questions for witness depositions and cross-examination. Valuation Resource Group has a New York licensed attorney with over twenty years of valuation experience to help bridge the gap between the financial and legal aspects of divorce.

For divorcing couples who seek a cooperative approach in resolving the financial issues of their divorce, Valuation Resource Group’s professionals include members of the International Association of Collaborative Professionals and the Collaborative Divorce Association of the Capital District. Collaborative divorce is a team-based approach to divorce focusing on achieving the best outcome collectively for the divorcing couple and their family. Valuation Resource Group’s professionals can provide valuable insight on valuation, financial planning, and income tax matters and assist you in building a collaborative team of legal and other professionals trained in the collaborative process.

In many divorces the largest asset(s) other than the marital residence is the pension and other retirement accounts accumulated during the marriage.  The professionals at Valuation Resource Group have performed thousands of valuations of more than one hundred different public and private sector defined benefit plans, including the New York State Retirement System, the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, Federal CSRS and FERS, the various Vermont public sector retirement system plans, General Electric, and trade unions.  In addition, Valuation Resource Group is routinely called upon to determine the marital and separate property portions of deferred compensation; 401(k); IRA and other similar defined contribution accounts.

According to a 2012 Harvard Business Review article, approximately 70% of family businesses are sold or fail before the second generation takes control. One possible contributing factor is that only 16% of family businesses have an agreed upon and documented transition plan in place. Transition planning can require not only financial knowledge, but also diplomacy to navigate the personnel and personal issues particular to family owned businesses. Valuation Resource Group has financial professionals trained in dispute resolution techniques that can be invaluable in establishing transition plans that preserve the “family” element of the business.

Valuation Resource Group has valued a wide range of businesses, including medical practices, restaurants, contracting businesses, manufacturers, and numerous others. Regardless of the industry, we merge pragmatism gained from decades of experience with sophisticated technical expertise in management, finance, law, and accounting to render supportable and understandable valuation opinions.

We have access to databases that report the sale prices of thousands of businesses across hundreds of industries. We also examine assets and liabilities and income and expenses to determine a value that is specific to your firm. Contact us to discuss the value of your firm.