Rosenberg v. Rosenberg

In Rosenberg v. Rosenberg, 64 Md. App. 487, 527-31, 497 A.2d 485, cert. denied, 305 Md. 107, 501 A.2d 845 (1985), the husband was a beneficiary of four trusts holding substantial amounts of stock in the American Trading and Petroleum Corporation ("ATAPCO"), a conglomerate. Id. at 528. ATAPCO's assets included four marine vessels, real estate, and stock in Standard Oil of Indiana and Crown Central Petroleum Corporation. Id. at 530. Although the value of ATAPCO stock increased during the marriage, the trial court failed to find that the increased value was marital property. Because the wife failed to show that her husband's "personal efforts" had "either directly or indirectly contributed" to the increased value of his interests in ATAPCO, the Court upheld the trial court's determination that the appreciation constituted non-marital property. Id. at 530. The Court discussed that statutory provision with respect to the husband's complaint that, for purposes of the monetary award, the court failed to consider his potential tax liability if he would have to sell his property to pay the award. The Court held that "potential income taxes do not alter the value of an asset for purposes of determining the value of either marital or non-marital property." Id. at 523. Moreover, the Court said that the husband's "future tax liabilities . . . and any gain on the future sale of assets" were too speculative for consideration. Id. at 526. The Court explained: "Value means fair market value," id. at 525, and is the "'estimated or appraised worth' of property . . .,not its appraised worth minus taxes." Id. at 525-26. Therefore, the Court determined that "taxes should not be taken into account in valuing property before making a monetary award." Rosenberg, 64 Md. App. at 526.