How much does a family law business valuation cost?

At Family Law Valuations a business valuation for a separation or divorce costs one of two fixed fees. A Settlement Valuation, for negotiation and mediation, is $2,495 + GST. A Family Law Expert Valuation, for family law proceedings, is $4,495 + GST. Each fee covers one reasonably straightforward business with complete and reliable records, and is confirmed in writing before any work starts.

The rest of this guide explains what sits behind those two figures: what changes the cost of a valuation, what is charged separately, who pays, and how long it takes.

The two fixed fees

Both fees are payable in advance, and work starts on receipt of payment. The fee is the same whatever figure the valuation reaches.

If you obtain a Settlement Valuation first and later need a Family Law Expert Valuation, the full settlement fee is credited when you upgrade within three months, so you pay only the $2,000 + GST difference. If the matter resolves, you have paid for the smaller report only. If it does not and you upgrade within three months, you have paid the same in total as going straight to the expert report.

Why valuation fees vary so much

A valuation can be priced by the hour, as an estimate or as a fixed fee, and quotes for the same business can differ widely. The differences come from five things.

1. What the report is for. A report prepared for negotiation is a different piece of work from an expert report prepared for proceedings, which must address the court's requirements for expert evidence and may be tested in cross-examination.
2. How many entities there are. One trading company is one valuation. A trading company, a service trust and a property-holding entity are three sets of records and the dealings between them.
3. The state of the records. Complete, reconciled financial statements take far less time than records that have to be reconstructed.
4. Whether the facts are disputed. Where the parties disagree about what the business earns or where money went, the work moves from valuation towards forensic reconstruction, which is a larger task.
5. What happens after the report. Questions to the valuer, conferences, supplementary analysis and attendance at a hearing are separate work from preparing the report.

An hourly rate leaves all five of those risks with the client. A fixed fee settles the cost of the report at the start and prices the rest in the open.

What is charged separately

The fixed fees cover the report. Work outside that scope is priced on the fees page so it can be weighed before the report is commissioned:

• 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

We confirm at the scope stage whether any of these apply. If the business turns out to need more than the fixed fee covers, you are told before work starts, not after.

Who pays for the valuation

For a Settlement Valuation, the party who instructs it pays, and where both parties instruct it jointly they can share the fee. That is a matter for the parties to agree.

For a single expert in proceedings before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, the Family Law Rules 2021 set default positions:

• The report. Unless the parties agree otherwise or the court orders otherwise, the parties are equally liable for the single expert's reasonable fees and expenses for preparing the report (rule 7.06).
• Starting work. A single expert is not required to start until the fees and expenses are paid or secured (rule 7.06).
• Questions. Where a party asks the single expert written questions to clarify the report, that party pays the expert's reasonable fees for answering them (rule 7.28).
• Cross-examination. Unless the court orders otherwise, the party who requires the single expert to attend court for cross-examination pays the reasonable fees and expenses of that attendance (rule 7.09).

How the cost is finally borne between the parties can be dealt with in the settlement or in the court's orders. That is a question for your lawyer.

How long it takes

The draft Settlement Valuation is delivered within 5 to 7 business days after payment and receipt of all required information. For a Family Law Expert Valuation, the delivery date is agreed with you before work begins and runs from payment and receipt of all required information.

In practice the timetable is set by the documents. The clock starts when the records are complete, so the fastest way to a report is to gather them early. Documents needed for a family law business valuation lists what a valuer asks for.

How to keep the cost down

• Choose the right report first. If the matter is being negotiated, a Settlement Valuation is the proportionate starting point. The report finder gives an indicative answer in two questions, and this guide explains the difference.
• Instruct jointly where you can. One valuation both parties rely on costs less than two that disagree.
• Send complete records. Missing documents cause delay and extra work.
• Say what is disputed. If the parties disagree about a fact that affects the value, raise it at the scope stage so the report can deal with it once.
• Ask before you commit. A free 15-minute consultation covers which report fits, what records are needed and what the fee includes.

The full schedule, with inclusions for each report, is on the fees page. Other guides are on the insights page.

This is general information about the cost of a business valuation in a family law matter. It is not legal advice. The rule references are to the Family Law Rules 2021 as in force from 10 June 2025; rules change, and how costs are dealt with in your matter is a question for your lawyer.