June Chapter Meeting, "Equitable Apportionment of Closely Held Business Interests"

JUNE CHAPTER MEETING

Equitable Apportionment of Closely Held Business Interests

with Alexandra Peais & Garrett Dailey

JUNE 3, 2026  |  6:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Please register by Friday, May 29 at 12 PM.

This panel will explore complex equitable apportionment and attendant issues related to the valuation and allocation of closely held business interests, including the following discussion topics:

• The use of apportionment formulas, including those set forth in Pereira, Van Camp, Brandes, and Moore/Marsden (e.g., when community capital, rather than labor, is contributed to a separate property business during marriage);
• Deviations from the above formulas based on case-specific facts, including instances where both community efforts and separate property capital contributed to the growth of a business during marriage (“step-up Pereira”, Todd v. Commissioner [tax case]);
• Tracing and/or reimbursement issues related to a Court’s determination of reasonable compensation from a business;
• Beam credits – when they are/are not appropriate and what to include;
• Rates of return in Pereira/reverse Pereira calculations;
• Practical tips for ensuring all expert reports are consistent in their conclusions (e.g., business valuation expert, reasonable compensation expert, forensic accountant).

Alexandra “Alex” Peais is a partner in the litigation services department of Gursey Schneider, LLP, specializing in forensic accounting for complex, high net worth family law matters. Alex joined Gursey Schneider in 2012 and relocated to San Francisco in 2015 to open and manage the firm’s Northern California office. Her expertise and services include tracing and apportionment of separate property assets, gross income available for support, marital standard of living analyses, equity compensation allocations, and reimbursement claims. Alex has extensive experience with family law issues pertaining to clients in the alternative asset management industry, including private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds. She has lectured on topics including equitable apportionment of business interests and separate property tracings. Alex co-authored a book regarding expert witness testimony in compensation related litigation and was a guest contributor for Forbes regarding marital dissolution issues. She has practiced exclusively in the field of family law forensic accounting since graduating with her undergraduate and master’s degrees in accounting in 2008 and 2009, respectively. www.gursey.com

Garrett Dailey is a practicing family law attorney with offices in Oakland. He is a Certified Family Law Specialist, a Fellow in the American and International Academies of Matrimonial Lawyers and a Diplomate in the American College of Family Trial Attorneys. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the State Bar Family Law Section. He has been named one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Northern California numerous times by Super Lawyers and is listed in "The Best Lawyers in America." He is a recipient of the LACBA Brandeis, ACFLS Hall of Fame, and AAML SoCal Family Law Person of the Year awards. Emphasizing appellate practice, his published cases include: Valli, Elkins, LaMusga; Facter, Hibbard, Hill & Dittmer, Cadwell-Faso, Dellaria & Blickman, Alter, Barthold, Heiner, Pearlstein, Nicholson & Sparks, Drapeau, and Copeman. www.ceb.com