"Can I use my gift tax valuation for my marital dissolution?"
This is a short post covering a common question: Can I use the gift tax valuation for my divorce? The long and short of this is no, you cannot. Although there are instances where a valuation may be used for multiple purposes, there are other situations that do not cross. This question came from a recent project involving a small corporation, owned by the father, that was operated by a father and son. It had a long operating history and was quite successful - a good reputation, solid profits. Their estate planning attorney retained me to value the stock for purposes of a gift or sale to the son. During the course of my appraisal, I was apprised of a divorce proceeding between the father and his spouse. When I told the son that my appraisal could not be used for the marital estate settlement, and that I would state this in my report, he was perplexed. Why exactly would the purpose of the appraisal change the value? Especially when you use the same val...