A responsive valuation partner for family-law professionals.

Yes. Reviewing proposed instructions before engagement is part of the scope stage for every Court Expert Valuation and is welcome for a Settlement Valuation. We tell you whether the questions can properly be answered, whether the valuation date and interest are clearly defined, what documents will be needed and whether anything in the draft would cause difficulty. We do not draft the instructions or advise on their legal form.

Yes, subject to conflict checking, scope review, suitable joint instructions and acceptance by the appointed expert. The identity of the appointed expert, their qualifications and experience, the scope, the fee and the expected delivery date are confirmed in writing before work begins. Whether a single expert is appropriate or required in the matter is for the parties and the Court.

We can tell you what each service is prepared for. The Settlement Valuation is prepared for negotiation and mediation purposes. It is not prepared for filing or reliance as expert evidence in court. Whether that is sufficient for your matter, or whether expert evidence will be required, is your judgement and the Court's. Where the matter is before the Court or an expert report is expected, we will say that the Court Expert Valuation is the appropriate scope rather than let you start with the wrong tool.

We identify them early, against a checklist tailored to the business, and tell you which gaps can be worked around and which cannot. Where a document is missing, the report says so and explains how the gap was treated. We do not chase the other side for documents; that is a matter for the parties and their lawyers. For a jointly instructed report, requests go through the instructing lawyers to both sides.

In a joint engagement, yes, equally and through the instructing lawyers. In a single-party engagement, no, unless you authorise it. We do not contact the other party, their solicitor or their accountant without instructions to do so, and we tell you if we are approached.

Settlement Valuation: Generally seven business days after payment and receipt of all required information, subject to complexity. Court Expert Valuation: the expected delivery date is confirmed in the engagement and depends on the scope, the structure, the state of the records and any court timetable. Tell us the dates that matter at the enquiry stage and we will tell you whether they can be met.

For a Settlement Valuation the fee is fixed at $2,995 + GST for the defined scope, and we tell you at the enquiry stage if the matter falls outside it. For a Court Expert Valuation we provide a written quotation after conflict checking and scope review. Before that, once we have seen the structure and the state of the records, we can usually say whether the matter is likely to sit at the starting fee or above it and why.

No valuer or firm is approved or accredited by the Court, and we do not claim to be. Expert reports are prepared to address the applicable expert-evidence requirements in the specific engagement and are signed only by the valuer who has accepted the instructions, and that signing valuer will be a Chartered Accountant, a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. Whether a report 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.

Before a Settlement Valuation is finalised you receive a draft so that errors of fact can be corrected: a figure we have misread, an ownership percentage that is wrong, a document we were not given. The review is for facts only. The methodology, the weighting of risks and the conclusion are the valuer's and are not open to negotiation. Where a report is prepared as expert evidence, the handling of drafts and clarification follows the instructions and the applicable expert-evidence requirements.