Barton v. Barton

Thompson, Justice.

This divorce case presents a question of first impression in this State: In placing a value on the stock of a closely-held corporation for purposes of dividing marital property, is the court bound by the value set forth in a buy-sell provision of the stockholder agreement? The short answer is “no.”

The parties had been married for 29 years when wife sued husband for divorce, seeking an equitable division of property and alimony. The matter was referred to an arbitrator who divided the marital assets, but did not award alimony. The arbitration award was adopted by the superior…