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Full transcript by James Nolletti below.
If the stock options were received during the marriage, they are part of the marital estate, and will likely be valued by a forensic accountant. They will either be actually distributed in kind to the parties, or be part of the estate true up. By true up we mean included and considered in the valuation and distribution of marital assets.
Determining the current share value for many publicly traded companies could be considerably less arduous. Perhaps the most complicated issue of all is valuing stock options and restricted stock that have been granted but haven't vested yet. The current value of stock options and restricted stock will depend upon numerous factors including how far in the future they vest. This is easier to compute with restricted stocks because unless the company goes bankrupt the stock should have some value. Unlike stock options, which might have an exercise or strike price that is greater than its market value, a condition commonly referred to as being underwater.
Your divorce team will work out likely scenarios for the probable worth of stock options and restricted stock. Based on independent evaluations of a company's potential and performance it is possible for a forensic accountant to predict, at the very least, whether these assets will have value or not. If they do the accountant could look into other factors in order to fine-tune that assessment as much as possible.
