Independent expert valuations for family law proceedings

A single expert is a valuer appointed jointly by the parties, or by order of the Court, to give expert evidence on the value of the business for both sides rather than each side engaging its own expert. We accept single expert instructions subject to conflict checking, scope review, suitable instructions and acceptance by the appointed expert. Whether a single expert is required, agreed or ordered in your matter is a question for your lawyer.

The signing valuer will be a Chartered Accountant, a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. They are identified in the engagement, together with their qualifications and experience, so that the parties and the Court know who is responsible for the opinion. As a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand they are bound by the professional standards that govern valuation and forensic accounting services. Nobody else signs, and no report is issued in the firm's name alone.

No valuer or report is approved by the Court, and any firm that says otherwise is overstating its position. The report is prepared to address the applicable expert-evidence requirements in the specific engagement, including the declaration of independence and the duty to the Court. Whether it is admitted, and what weight it is given, are matters for the Court.

Because the work required for an expert report varies with the matter. The final scope and fee depend on the business, the entity structure, the quality of the records and the issues in dispute, and are confirmed in writing after conflict checking and scope review, before any work begins. The starting point for a single business with orderly records is from $8,995 + GST. Work such as court attendance and cross-examination, conferences of experts and joint expert reports, supplementary or updated reports is scoped and charged separately.

Court attendance and cross-examination; Conferences of experts and joint expert reports; Supplementary or updated reports; Forensic accounting work; Material additional document review; Responding to questions beyond reasonable written clarification. Each is quoted before it is undertaken. The report fee covers the analysis, the report and reasonable written clarification following delivery.

That depends on the rules that apply to your matter and on what the Court has ordered, and your lawyer will advise. We can accept instructions from one party or from both, subject to conflict checking and scope review. The expert's duty to the Court, and the way the analysis is done, are the same whoever instructs.

Where the parties give different accounts of a fact that affects the value, for example the hours the owner works or whether a family member's wage is at market rates, the instructions can ask the expert to value the business on each set of assumptions. The report then shows the effect of each and explains why it matters. The expert does not decide which account is true; that is for the Court.

Yes, where required. Court attendance, cross-examination and conferences of experts are separately charged and quoted when they arise. Many matters settle before that point, and the report is written with the expectation that it will be tested.

It depends on the scope, the structure, the state of the records and any court timetable. We confirm an expected delivery date in the engagement letter and tell you promptly if anything affects it. If a date has been set by the Court, tell us in the enquiry so it can be considered at the scope stage.

Business documents only at first: financial statements and tax returns for recent years, current management accounts, and the documents that show who owns what, such as a company extract, trust deed or partnership agreement. We send a checklist once the scope is confirmed. Please do not send affidavits, court documents, personal correspondence, medical records or other personal evidence until we have completed the conflict check and asked for them.

Neither. Our role is to determine a supportable value from the available evidence, not to produce the highest or lowest number for either party. The same analysis applies whoever instructs us, and every conclusion must be capable of being explained, tested and defended. If you want a valuer who will argue for a particular figure, we are not the right firm.

If your matter later requires an expert report for court, we will assess whether the initial work can be carried forward and provide a separate quotation before proceeding. The appointed expert must independently review the material and may require further information or analysis. Unnecessary duplication is avoided where appropriate, but the Settlement Valuation fee is not automatically credited and the expert may need further information or analysis. Many matters settle on the Settlement Valuation alone. Where an expert report was always going to be required, starting there is usually the better path, and we will say so.