Business valuations for family law matters are often required in order to ascertain the value of businesses and companies that form part of the marital assets. Business valuations for family law matters provide an opinion of the value of a businesses or companies, thus enabling the court (or parties by agreement) to determine how to split their joint asset pool.
Business valuers in the context of family law matters are normally a single expert, which is a valuer who is jointly appointed by the parties.
The Family Law Rules, which detail procedural rules with respect to the conduct of family law matters dictate that the court may make an order that requires the parties to agree between each other on a single expert in order to provide expert evidence and can order that the parties mutually agree on instructions for the single expert.
In the context of business valuations for family law matters, it is very common for single experts to be jointly appointed by the parties. This is done as it saves parties from each engaging their own expert and reduces issues that could arise if multiple experts each have differing views regarding the value of businesses.
When engaging single expert business valuers, it is typical for one party to seek out multiple potential business valuers, and then for the names of those parties provided to the other party so that a business valuer can be selected mutually between the parties.
As part of working with single expert valuers, it is vital that both parties have an equal opportunity to disclose information regarding the business or company which is to be valued. Typically, single expert valuers will liaise with both party’s legal counsels in order to source information in order to assist them with providing their advice.
If either of the parties to a family law matter have issue with the business valuation report prepared by the single expert business valuer, then they may engage their own business valuer to review the report prepared by the single expert business valuer and provide their own opinion of value. These valuers are normally referred to as shadow expert business valuers (see Shadow Expert Business Valuations for Family Law Matters).
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Groves & Partners are expert business valuers, company valuers and share valuers. We have significant experience in undertaking business valuations for family law matters, including significant expertise acting as single, jointly appointed business valuers and as shadow expert business valuers. We have appeared in the Family Court of Australia to provide verbal testimony.
Our team of business valuers includes Chartered Accountants, Registered Business Valuers and Certified Minority Interest Valuers. To find out more about our family law business valuation services please phone us on 1300 892 717 (+61 2 7208 7970) or email info@groves.com.au.