Divorce & division valuation.
Market value established by a valuer independent of the parties
A value both parties can accept.
Divorce, separation, exit from joint ownership, division of an estate: the property is almost always the main issue: the family home, a rental property, a jointly owned business. An agency estimate, free and geared towards a sale, is not enough: what is needed is a reasoned market value that each party, each lawyer and the judge can examine.
Our reports establish the value at the date of division using the methods of the French Valuation Charter, supported by documented comparables, and quantify what goes with it: occupation compensation, the undivided share and any discount on it, reimbursements between spouses. On a joint assignment for both parties, for one of them, or on appointment by the judge.
Market value, in the glossaryDivorce & separation
Value of the home and of the couple's properties, preferential allocation, equalisation payment: the figures underpinning the agreement or the judgment.
Exit from joint ownership
Value of the share, reasoned joint-ownership discount, court-ordered sale: what a share that cannot be sold on its own is really worth.
Division of an estate
Value at the date of division, lifetime gifts brought back into account, properties held for a long time.
Alongside lawyers and notaries.
Most of our family assignments are entrusted to us by the parties' advisers. The report is designed to fit into their work: clear conclusions, explicit methods, complete appendices, and a valuer who signs and is available to answer for it.
What we are really asked.
On an out-of-court assignment, whatever the parties decide: most often the costs are shared when the valuer is jointly appointed, or each party pays their own. In court expert proceedings, the judge appoints the expert and rules on who bears the costs, which are generally advanced by the claimant and then apportioned.
An agency's opinion of value is free because it prepares a sale mandate; it does not commit its author and is easily challenged. When the parties disagree, only a reasoned valuation report (methods, comparables, justified allowances) stands up before the lawyers and the judge.
A joint valuer, chosen by agreement, is the quickest and least costly route: a single value, binding on both parties. Once the conflict is entrenched, each party can instruct their own. Our reports are then built for adversarial discussion. Failing agreement, the judge appoints one.
The market value of the property at the date closest to the actual division, not the purchase price, nor an old estimate. It takes into account the real condition of the property and, where applicable, the occupation compensation owed by the occupant.
A division to secure?
Describe your property and your situation, in complete confidence. The valuer who replies is the one who will sign the report.
Request a valuation