When a closely held business sits in the marital estate, the owner’s compensation becomes the hinge of the entire financial case. It drives support calculations, and it drives business value — because a valuation must normalize officer compensation before capitalizing earnings. Set the number carelessly and the same dollars get counted twice, or vanish entirely. Grahall provides the independent reasonable compensation analysis that lets valuation and support rest on one consistent foundation.
When counsel retain us
We are engaged by counsel on either side, and by agreement as a jointly retained neutral — quantifying the reasonable compensation for the owner’s actual roles so the valuation expert, the support analysis, and the court work from a defensible number rather than a self-reported one.
How the opinion is built
Owner-executives in closely held businesses rarely hold one job; they hold several. Our composite analysis prices each role the owner actually performs against market survey data, producing a supportable earnings figure independent of what the owner chose to pay themselves — a distinction that matters enormously when reported W-2 income was set with taxes, not divorce, in mind.
If this question is live in a matter you are handling, request a conflicts check — an initial conversation costs nothing and quickly clarifies whether an independent compensation expert strengthens your case. Our methodology and engagement structures pages explain how we work.