May v. May

589 S.E.2d 536 (W.Va. 2003)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

H and W married on June 23, 1979. In 1980, the couple built a home on property adjacent to H's dental office. From about 1980 to 1993, W worked at least 20 hours per week at H's dental office. H and W had three children. On May 22, 2000, W filed for divorce. The decree granting the divorce left unresolved the issue of the distribution of marital property. That was subsequently litigated in front of the family court judge. Expert testimony on the valuation of H's solo dental practice was presented. H's expert valued the dental practice at $55,000.00, which included a 20% discount for lack of marketability. W's expert placed a fair market value on the dental practice at $120,000.00. The fair market value included a value for goodwill. The court went with W's expert. W's equitable distribution payment for her interest in the dental practice was payable to her in the amount of $889.00 per month from June 1, 2004, to May 31, 2012. The family court judge found that the real estate involved in the case was marital property that had a net value of $125,324.44. W was awarded a one-half interest in the value of the real estate. H appealed.