The issue of how personal perks are being paid often arises when dealing with a self-employed party. Examples of personal perks provided at the expense of the company may include cell phone payments, car payments or repairs, entertainment, meal expenses, travel expenses, country club dues, and other comparable expenses that primarily benefit the individual. These expenses may be still be permissible deductions for tax purposes but the court should consider the amount and nature of these expenses in a support case.
Personal perks are also relevant in the context of a business valuation for divorce. An income based approach is most popular for small businesses. This method of valuation focuses on the cash flow of the business. The reasonable compensation of the party owner should be deducted from the cash flow of the business in doing a valuation. Again, the personal perks paid by the business on the owners behalf would need to be accounted for and subsequently, necessary adjustments would need to be made.
