NORBERTO MENENDEZ, APPELLANT/CROSS-APPELLEE,
v.
NANCY M. RODRIGUEZ-MENENDEZ, APPELLEE/CROSS-APPELLANT
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
In this Florida dissolution of marriage case, the former husband appealed the trial court's distribution of marital assets and custody determination, while the former wife cross-appealed certain asset distributions. The appellate court affirmed most of the judgment but reversed the trial court's equal distribution of shares in Globalis, Inc., a closely held business, because the asset was not properly valued and leaving the former spouses as joint owners would require them to operate as business partners.
The court reversed the equal distribution of Globalis shares because the trial court failed to value the asset with sufficient evidence, and joint ownership of a closely held corporation between former spouses is an intolerable financial arrangement that requires them to operate as business partners. On remand, the parties must present proper valuation evidence so the trial court can award the asset to one spouse and devise a distribution plan that minimizes interference with the corporation's ongoing business.
[1] A trial court's failure to properly value an asset, particularly a closely held business, requires reversal of the property award.
[2] Granting a former spouse a shared interest in the stock of a closely held corporation is generally improper as it forces former spouses to operate as business partners.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“[w]hen property valuation is an integral part of the court's entire plan of distribution, confusion as to value requires reversal of the property award”
Establishes the legal standard requiring reversal when assets are not properly valued in property distribution cases
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe parties were married in October 1990 and executed an antenuptial agreement protecting separate assets. They separated in August 2000 when their so…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Distribution Of Assets cases and more on FLexlaw
WELLS, J.
The former husband appeals the distribution of assets and the custody determination contained in a final judgment of dissolution of marriage. The former wife cross appeals the court’s distribution of several assets. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.
The couple was married in October, 1990. Prior to their marriage, they exe cuted an “Antenuptial Agreement” that provided for the protection of the parties’ “separate assets” in the event of a dissolution of marriage. The parties separated in August, 2000. At that time, the parties’ son was a little over one year old. The former husband was self-employed as the President of Globalis, Inc., a software development and web design company, acquired and developed during the parties’ marriage. The former wife was employed as a Business Development Manager for Apple Computer. Of the eight issues argued on appeal and cross appeal, we find merit only in the claim that the trial court erred in concluding, without sufficient evidence as to value, that the shares of Globalis should be equally distributed between the spouses. The parties correctly concede that this asset was not properly valued below and that it was improper for the trial court to leave the parties as joint owners of this closely held business. See Ross v. Bandi, 566 So. 2d 55, 56 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990) (citing Saxton v. Saxton, 454 So. 2d 575 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)) (“[w]hen property valuation is an integral part of the court’s entire plan of distribution, confusion as to value requires reversal of the property award”). As we observed in Robbins v. Robbins, 549 So. 2d 1033, 1033-34 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989), granting a former spouse a shared interest in the stock of a closely held corporation has the effect of “requiring the former spouses to operate as business partners. Such a financial arrangement is intolerable.”
The parties must, therefore, on remand present proper valuation evidence for Glo-balis so that the trial court may, as the parties agree, award this asset to one of the spouses and “devise a plan of distribution which causes the least interference with the ongoing business of the corporation, yet which is practical and beneficial to both spouses.” Id. at 1034. The remainder of the final judgment is affirmed subject to redistribution of the marital assets, if necessary, to effectuate distribution of Globalis.1
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings.
. As we noted in Robbins, there are a number of alternatives available to provide a spouse with the cash value of his or her stock in a corporation distributed to the other spouse. See Robbins, 549 So. 2d at 1034 (alternatives include: requiring one spouse to purchase the other’s stock interest within a reasonable time; directing periodic installment payments on a lump sum obligation or on a principal repayment, or both; ordering the sale of all stock with equal distribution of the proceeds).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Bowen v. Volz (Fla. 1st DCA 2019)…y percent interest due to the dearth of evidence presented on the company’s actual worth. In spite of the insightful evidentiary comments from the circuit judge at trial, we agree with the Third District’s decision in Menendez v. Rodriguez-Menendez, 871 So. 2d 951 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004), in which the Third District found that the parties’ business asset was not properly valued by the court below. Accordingly, it held that “it was improper for the trial court to leave the parties as joint owners of this closely he…
Authorities Cited
- Elliott Ross v. Bandi, 566 So. 2d 55 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)
- Saxton v. Saxton, 454 So. 2d 575 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)
- Revalle Robbins v. Robbins, 549 So. 2d 1033 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)