Hug or Nelson

Stock Option Calculator

Estimate the community property share of stock options, RSUs, or other vesting equity using the Hug and Nelson time-rule formulas.

Formula assumptions

Hug uses hire date to service date over hire date to vesting date. Nelson uses grant date to service date over grant date to vesting date. The community share is divided equally, with the remaining separate shares assigned to the employee spouse.

Grant Schedule

Vesting Tranches

Learn About How

The Hug and Nelson Formulas Work

1.Choose the Formula

Hug generally produces a larger community share because it starts counting at the hire date. Nelson starts at each grant date and is usually used when the grant is more future-service focused.

2.Enter Each Vesting Block

Each vesting date can have a different denominator, so each grant or vesting tranche should be entered separately.

3.Review the Allocation

The calculator estimates community shares, each spouse's half of the community shares, and the employee spouse's remaining separate shares.

4.Legal Review

This calculator is an estimate only. Courts can consider employer intent, grant documents, tax issues, forfeiture, and other facts not captured by a web form.

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