How a divorce appraisal actually works

In marital dissolution the appraisal is frequently the only neutral document in the file. It may be ordered jointly by both parties, by one party, or by court appointment, and how it was ordered affects nothing about how it is performed — the conclusion is the same either way.

The valuation date is the first thing to settle. Arizona and other jurisdictions vary, and the parties may stipulate a date: date of service, date of separation, date of trial, or another. Because that date can be historical, many divorce appraisals are retrospective.

The second question is what is actually being valued. A marital estate frequently contains a house, vehicles, personal property, retirement accounts, and sometimes a business interest. Those are different disciplines, and using a single appraiser competent across real property, personal property, and tangible business assets removes the problem of reconciling reports that disagree.

Expect the report to be read adversarially. Opposing counsel will look for unsupported adjustments, undisclosed assumptions, and comparables that do not survive inspection. A report written from the outset to withstand that scrutiny is the only kind worth commissioning.