Business Valuation Across Texas

Valuation of the operating business at the heart of the estate, including cases where one spouse controls the records and reported earnings need to be normalized.

• Normalization of owner compensation and perks
• Review of related-party transactions
• Valuation date selection and its effect
• Marketability and control considerations

Analysis of what portion of an asset is community property under Texas law, including growth on separate property and contributions made during the marriage.

• Inception of title analysis
• Appreciation attribution
• Reimbursement claim support

Separation of the value tied to the individual professional — their skill, reputation, and relationships — from value that would transfer to a buyer.

• Professional practice valuations
• Transferability and non-compete analysis
• Comparison to industry benchmarks

Valuation and characterization of stock options, restricted stock, deferred compensation, carried interest, and other awards that vest across the marriage and after it.

• Option valuation and vesting allocation
• Carried interest and profits interest analysis
• Time-rule allocation formulas

Reconstruction of account and asset history to trace separate funds through commingled accounts, and to quantify reimbursement claims between estates.

• Bank and brokerage account tracing
• Commingling and identification methods
• Schedules ready for exhibit use

Service as a jointly retained or court-appointed neutral, or as the financial professional supporting a collaborative or mediated settlement.

• Single credible number for both sides
• Settlement scenario modeling
• Attendance at mediation sessions

Valuation of a disputed ownership interest in oppression, dissenters' rights, and buyout matters — where the applicable standard of value and the treatment of discounts frequently decide the case.

• Fair value versus fair market value analysis
• Minority and marketability discount positions
• Distribution and compensation history review
• Reconstruction of disputed financial records

But-for modeling that isolates the financial effect of the alleged conduct from ordinary market movement, with mitigation and causation treated explicitly.

• But-for revenue and margin modeling
• Benchmark and yardstick methods
• Mitigation and offset analysis
• Prejudgment interest and present value

Quantification of losses from a terminated agreement, supply failure, or interrupted operations, including claims presented to an insurer.

• Contract-specific damage period
• Fixed versus variable cost treatment
• Extra expense and recovery period costs

Report, deposition, and trial testimony from a credentialed valuation expert, with methodology chosen and documented with admissibility in mind.

• Reports meeting NACVA and USPAP standards
• Direct and cross-examination preparation
• Plain-language explanation of financial concepts

A focused review of the other side's valuation identifying method errors, unsupported inputs, internal inconsistencies, and the effect of each on the conclusion.

• Assumption-by-assumption critique
• Recalculation under corrected inputs
• Deposition question outlines for counsel

Balance sheet, cash flow, and capital adequacy testing as of a specific date, plus reasonably equivalent value analysis for transfers under review.

• Three-part solvency testing
• Reasonably equivalent value opinions
• Retrospective valuation as of the transfer date

Valuation of a business or its assets in Chapter 11, in out-of-court workouts, and in lender negotiations, where going-concern value cannot simply be assumed.

• Going-concern versus liquidation value
• Plan of reorganization and recovery analysis
• Valuation disputes at plan confirmation
• Support for debtors, lenders, and creditors’ committees

Establish a defensible asking price before you go to market, and find out which parts of the business the buyer will actually pay for. We separate recurring earnings from one-time items and show where the value gap sits.

• Normalized earnings and add-back schedule
• Indicated value range by approach
• Value driver and gap analysis
• Support through LOI and negotiation

An independent view of value before capital is committed, including what the target is worth standalone versus what it is worth to you specifically.

• Standalone versus synergy value
• Earnout and contingent consideration modeling
• Working capital peg review
• Downside case and break-even analysis

An independent opinion for boards, trustees, and minority shareholders on whether the consideration in a proposed transaction is fair from a financial point of view.

• Independent of the deal parties and fee outcome
• Documented process and board presentation
• Related-party and conflict transactions

Allocation of purchase consideration to tangible and identifiable intangible assets, with the residual to goodwill, prepared for audit review.

• Customer relationships, trade names, technology, non-competes
• Weighted average return analysis
• Useful life and amortization support
• Auditor-ready workpapers

Recurring or triggered valuations under the standard of value written into your agreement — before a departure, death, or dispute turns it into litigation.

• Interpretation of the agreement's value definition
• Annual refresh valuations
• Control and marketability discount treatment

Quarterly and annual fair value marks on illiquid equity and debt positions for LP reporting and audit.

• Level 3 fair value measurement
• Yield, market, and enterprise waterfall methods
• Consistent quarter-over-quarter methodology

Sector work across upstream, midstream, power generation, utilities, renewables, and the energy transition, drawing on decades of energy-sector experience.

• Commodity price and basis considerations
• Generation economics and PPA analysis
• Regulatory and rate-case environment
• Transition and decarbonization exposure

Mark-to-market valuation of producing oil and gas interests, and valuation of frac, water, and oilfield services businesses through the cycle.

• Mark-to-market and reserve-based analysis
• Frac, water, and oilfield services companies
• Utilization and day-rate assumptions
• Cycle-aware commodity price decks

A referral desk for counsel who need a discipline outside valuation. We draw on a network built across energy, finance, and litigation to put forward experts whose work holds up, and we say plainly when we are not the right expert for your matter.

• Candidate shortlists with prior testimony history
• Conflict and availability screening
• Energy, financial, accounting, and technical disciplines
• Any referral relationship disclosed up front

A structured read on an industry's economics: structure, margin behavior, cost curve, capital intensity, and where the current cycle sits relative to history.

• Supply and demand fundamentals
• Margin and return-on-capital history
• Entry barriers and competitive structure
• Cited primary and public sources

Bottom-up and top-down sizing of a market, plus peer comparison on growth, margin, and capital efficiency, built so each assumption can be challenged on its own.

• Addressable and serviceable market build
• Unit and pricing decomposition
• Peer selection and screening rationale
• Positioning and share trend analysis

An explicit assessment of what could invalidate a forecast — technology, substitution, regulation, or customer behavior — and custom research scoped to a single question.

• Identification of displacement threats
• Sensitivity of value to each risk
• Defined question and deliverable format
• Briefing session on findings

Fair market value opinions for filed returns, prepared to meet qualified appraisal requirements and to withstand review long after the filing date.

• Form 706 and Form 709 support
• Revenue Ruling 59-60 factor analysis
• Date-of-death and alternate valuation dates
• Adequate disclosure documentation

Valuation of non-controlling, non-marketable interests in family limited partnerships and closely held entities, grounded in what the governing documents actually permit a holder to do.

• Partnership and operating agreement review
• Net asset value and income approaches
• Transfer restriction and distribution analysis

Discount analysis supported by published studies and the specific facts of the interest, with the reasoning shown rather than a single cited percentage.

• Restricted stock and pre-IPO study evidence
• Closed-end fund and control premium data
• Entity-specific adjustment reasoning

Valuation support for planned transfers — annual gifting programs, GRATs, sales to defective trusts, and recapitalizations — coordinated with your estate attorney and CPA.

• Pre-transaction planning values
• Coordination with counsel and tax advisors
• Multi-year gifting program support

Qualified appraisals of closely held business interests donated to charitable organizations, including Form 8283 support.

• Qualified appraiser and appraisal standards
• Form 8283 signature and documentation
• Contemporaneous valuation timing

Values used to divide a family business fairly among heirs — active and inactive alike — and to size the insurance or note funding behind a buy-sell agreement.

• Equalization scenario analysis
• Insurance funding adequacy review
• Successor and non-successor heir treatment