What is the business really worth in your property settlement?

An independent assessment of what a business, or a person's interest in it, is worth at a particular date, prepared so the value can be included in the property pool when a marriage or de facto relationship ends. It looks at the earnings the business can maintain, what the owner is paid, what the business owns and owes, how far it depends on one person, and the nature of the interest being valued. The result is a written report that explains the figure and how it was reached, so that both parties, their advisers and, where required, the Court can understand and test it.

Often, yes, when a business or an interest in one forms part of the property pool. Whether the parties were married or in a de facto relationship, the business has to be given a value before the pool can be divided, and an agreed or independent figure is usually needed before negotiation, mediation or proceedings can move forward. A Settlement Valuation is prepared for negotiation and mediation. A Family Law Expert Valuation is prepared for proceedings. Your lawyer can tell you which the matter requires.

Settlement Valuation: Signed report in 2 business days for annual turnover under $2 million, or 3 business days from $2 million to $10 million. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. Over $10 million, the delivery date is agreed with you before work begins. Family Law Expert Valuation: The delivery date is agreed with you before work begins, and runs from payment and receipt of all required information. Where the Court or the parties have set a timetable, tell us in the enquiry. Urgent turnaround is available at a 25% surcharge.

No. The Settlement Valuation is prepared for negotiation and mediation purposes. It is not prepared for filing or reliance as expert evidence in court. It is not prepared under formal or joint instructions and does not address the expert-evidence requirements that apply in court proceedings. If your matter is before the Court, or your lawyer expects it will be, the Family Law Expert Valuation is the appropriate service. If you later need the expert report, the settlement fee is credited on upgrade within three months; the terms are set out under the upgrade credit on the fees page.

The Settlement Valuation is a fixed fee of $1,495 + GST for a business with annual turnover under $2 million, $2,495 + GST from $2 million to under $3 million or $3,495 + GST from $3 million to $10 million (over $10 million, quoted in writing before work starts). The Family Law Expert Valuation is a fixed fee of $4,495 + GST. The fixed fees apply to one reasonably straightforward business with complete and reliable records. We will confirm the scope before commencing. Additional entities, urgent turnaround, expert conferences and court attendance are priced on the fees page, which also sets out what each service includes. The settlement fee is credited in full if you upgrade to the expert report within three months.

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.

Complete the confidential enquiry and choose "Not sure" for the service. Tell us whether the matter is before the Court, whether a single expert has been agreed or ordered, and what the valuation will be used for. We complete an initial conflict and scope assessment and tell you which service fits, or that a quotation is needed, before anything begins. Submission of the form does not create an engagement.