On April 29, 2021, A.K. Moody and Kevin Weigand published “The Many Values of ‘Fair Market Value’: Drafting Option Contracts in Testamentary Documents in Light of Mangano” in Westlaw Today. The following is an excerpt:
A recent opinion from the Supreme Court of Virginia underscores the importance of ensuring that a testator’s intentions are clear and unambiguous. As demonstrated by the case of Wilburn v. Mangano, 851 S.E.2d 474 (Va. 2020), a beneficiary’s right to purchase the testator’s property at “fair market value” can have a host of meanings and lead to unanticipated effects. While “fair market value” is a defined term that fixes values that are reported in probate filings and Federal estate tax filings, this term may not provide such a fixed and ascertainable value in the context of an option contract so as to ensure that such contract is enforceable between the parties.