For lawyers & advisers
Single expert and settlement business valuations for family law matters. Independent business valuations for negotiation, mediation and, on suitable instructions, court proceedings. Scope discipline, direct communication where authorised, and a report written to be tested by the other side.
Who we work with
A fixed-fee Settlement Valuation for matters that are negotiating or mediating, and a fixed-fee Family Law Expert Valuation on suitable instructions where proceedings are on foot or expected. We review proposed instructions before engagement, tell you what is missing and confirm the valuation date and the interest being valued before starting. Reports are written so the other side can follow the reasoning, which is the point.
A business value that both parties can understand often unlocks the rest of the pool. The Settlement Valuation is prepared for exactly that use, can be jointly instructed, and is delivered on a stated timeframe so it can be scheduled ahead of the mediation. The Settlement Valuation is prepared for negotiation and mediation purposes. It is not prepared for filing or reliance as expert evidence in court.
You know the business; we value it independently. We work from the accounts you prepared, ask the questions a valuer needs answered and keep you informed where the client authorises it. Where the matter needs a valuer who is independent of the business's own accountant, we can take that role without displacing you from the client relationship.
We work with solicitors, mediators and accountants and can:
A letter of instruction is not required for a Settlement Valuation, though one is welcome. It is required for a Family Law Expert Valuation. Whether formal or informal, we find it useful when the instruction covers the following. This is what helps us do the work; it is not advice on the form or content of instructions, and your own view of what the matter requires governs.
The date or dates at which the value is required. Where more than one date is instructed, say why, so the report can address what changed between them.
The entity, the class of interest and the percentage held, and whether the whole business is to be valued as well as the interest. Where the business runs through several entities, a structure diagram saves time.
Market value is usual. Where a different basis is required, or specific assumptions are to be adopted, or alternative assumptions on disputed facts are to be addressed, set them out so the report can answer the question actually asked.
What has been disclosed, what is still to come and who holds it. We identify gaps against our checklist and tell you what can and cannot be done without a particular document.
Any court dates, mediation dates or agreed timetable, so the expected delivery date in the engagement can be set with them in mind.
The specific questions the report should address, and any it should not. An expert can only properly answer questions within their expertise, and we will say so if a question falls outside it.
Who we may speak to, whether communications go to both sides, and how questions to the owner or the accountant should be routed.
In family law proceedings a valuer may be appointed as a single expert, on the joint instruction of the parties or by order of the Court, to give evidence on the value of the business for both sides. We accept single expert instructions subject to conflict checking, scope review, suitable instructions and acceptance by the appointed expert. The appointed expert's overriding duty is to the Court, whoever pays the fee, and the expert does not act as an advocate for either party.
In a joint engagement we correspond with both sides equally, documents are provided through the instructing lawyers, and one round of factual corrections is included. Work outside the fixed fee is priced up front: Additional business or entity: from $1,500 + GST; Urgent turnaround: 25% surcharge; Formal questions, supplementary analysis and expert conferences: $650 + GST per hour; Remote court attendance: $650 + GST per hour, four-hour minimum; Interstate court attendance: $6,500 + GST per day, plus travel and accommodation at cost; Complex structures, forensic reconstruction, asset tracing and disputed financial records: quoted separately.
Whether a single expert is required, the form of the joint instruction, the procedure for questions to the expert and whether a party may adduce other expert evidence are matters for the parties and the Court under the rules that apply to the matter. Procedures differ between courts and registries. We do not advise on them; we work within the instructions you settle.
A Settlement Valuation can also be jointly instructed for a mediation or negotiation. The Settlement Valuation is prepared for negotiation and mediation purposes. It is not prepared for filing or reliance as expert evidence in court.
Single expert business valuations in family law
Every enquiry is treated as confidential from the moment it arrives. The conflict check is completed before the matter is discussed in detail, against the names of both parties, their solicitors, the business and its related entities. If a conflict exists we tell you promptly and do not proceed. Where one party has already approached us about a matter, we will not act for the other party alone; a joint instruction remains possible.
We do not discuss a matter with anyone the instructing party has not authorised. Documents are provided through the process we confirm at engagement, and highly sensitive personal material is not requested before the conflict check is complete. Our privacy policy sets out how information is handled.
Your questions
Yes. Reviewing proposed instructions before engagement is part of the scope stage for every Family Law 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 Family Law 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: Draft report within 5 to 7 business days after receiving payment and all required information. Family Law Expert Valuation: The delivery date is agreed with you before work begins, and runs from payment and receipt of all required information. Urgent turnaround is available at a 25% surcharge. Tell us the dates that matter at the enquiry stage and we will tell you whether they can be met.
Yes. The Settlement Valuation is fixed at $2,495 + GST and the Family Law Expert Valuation is fixed at $4,495 + GST. The fixed fees apply to one reasonably straightforward business with complete and reliable records. We will confirm the scope before commencing. If the enquiry shows more than that, such as additional entities or records that need reconstruction, we tell you at the enquiry stage and price it before starting.
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 delivered by a suitably qualified business valuer. They are signed only by the valuer who has accepted the instructions. Whether a report is admitted, and what weight it is given, are matters for the Court.
One operating business or ownership interest that is reasonably straightforward, with complete and reliable records. For that scope, $4,495 + GST covers the review of the company, trust and loan arrangements, detailed earnings normalisation, the valuation methodologies with sensitivity analysis, the expert declaration, the report and one round of factual corrections. We confirm the scope in writing before work begins. Work outside that scope is priced at the published rates on the fees page.
Before a report 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. Both fixed fees include one round of factual corrections. 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.
Tell us about the business, the parties and where the matter stands. We complete the conflict check and confirm the appropriate scope before anything begins. Or call 0433 475 518 or request a call back. Phone hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (Sydney time).
Submission of the enquiry form does not create an expert engagement.