Skidmore Camm Garrett v. Jona McKeehan Garrett

Athens, Tennessee family law lawyers represented the parties in a divorce action.



After more than twenty years of marriage, Skidmore Camm Garrett ("Husband") filed for divorce from Jona McKeehan Garrett ("Wife"). She responded with a countercomplaint for divorce. Because their children were adults by the time of trial, issues mainly centered around alimony and the division of marital property. Wife, who worked as a realtor, and Husband, who worked as a financial advisor, had accumulated a substantial marital estate.



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FAMILY LAW. DIVORCE—MARITAL ASSET VALUATION. The case involves a dispute over the valuation of the husband's business for the purpose of equitably dividing the marital estate in a divorce, with the court ultimately adopting the valuation proposed by the wife's expert and affirming the trial court's findings as not preponderated against by the evidence.



BUSINESS LAW. BUSINESS VALUATION—GOODWILL. This case addresses the issue of how to value a closely-held, single-owner business in the context of divorce, debating the appropriateness of including enterprise goodwill in the business valuation versus excluding it in favor of a net asset value approach.



EVIDENCE LAW. EXPERT TESTIMONY IN BUSINESS VALUATION. The case examines the trial court's ability to choose between conflicting expert valuations of a business, focusing on the merit of different valuation methods, particularly in distinguishing between personal and enterprise goodwill in the context of sole proprietorships.

Key Phrases Equitable division. Marital estate. Professional goodwill. Net asset value. Income approach.

Affirmed