Single expert business valuations for family law property settlements.

A family law business valuation establishes the value of a business or business interest for a property settlement under the Family Law Act 1975. Prismi acts as single expert or adversarial expert under Chapter 7 of the FCFCOA Rules, preparing independent, senior-reviewed valuation reports for separating owners and their lawyers — documented to withstand disclosure scrutiny, expert conclaves and cross-examination.

When a family law business valuation is required

When a marriage or de facto relationship ends and either party holds an interest in a private business — a company, trust, partnership or sole trader operation — that interest forms part of the property pool and must be valued before it can be divided. A valuation is needed whether the matter resolves at the kitchen table, at mediation, through consent orders or at a contested hearing, because neither the parties nor the court can deal sensibly with an asset whose value is unknown. In practice the valuation is commissioned once disclosure begins: the lawyers agree on an expert, a letter of instruction defines what is being valued and at what date, and the report becomes the evidentiary foundation for negotiation. The earlier a credible valuation exists, the more likely the matter settles without a hearing.

Single expert or adversarial experts: how appointment works

Chapter 7 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 expresses a clear preference: expert evidence on a question should, where practicable, be given by a single expert jointly instructed by both parties. Appointing separate adversarial experts generally requires the court's permission. In either role the expert's paramount duty is to the court, not to the party paying the fee — and the expert must disclose any prior relationship with either party, their advisers or the business that could compromise independence. Prismi accepts single expert appointments jointly instructed by both firms, adversarial appointments where leave is contemplated, and shadow expert engagements reviewing another expert's report. Our fees are fixed at engagement and never contingent on outcome, which is precisely what an independence declaration requires.

'Value to the owner' versus market value

Family law valuation differs from tax valuation in one fundamental respect. Market value asks what a willing but not anxious buyer would pay a willing but not anxious seller — the Spencer v Commonwealth standard that governs CGT and stamp duty work. Family law courts have long accepted a broader question: what is the interest worth to the spouse who owns it? Where the owner has no intention of selling and will keep drawing income from the business after settlement, value to the owner can exceed what an open-market sale would realise. The two standards produce different answers most sharply on personal goodwill and minority interests, and a family law report must identify which standard the facts support and why — not simply import an open-market conclusion.

Personal goodwill and minority interests: where the standards diverge

In an open-market sale, goodwill that attaches personally to the owner — their relationships, reputation and qualifications — often cannot be transferred and is heavily discounted or excluded. In family law the analysis can run the other way: the owner-spouse keeps the business and keeps earning from that goodwill, so the court may attribute value that a hypothetical sale never would. Minority interests receive similar treatment. A 30% shareholding sold on the open market would ordinarily carry discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability; where that same interest sits inside a family bloc, or where no sale will ever occur, the court may decline to apply a discount at all. Our reports address both standards, state which conclusion the evidence supports on the facts, and document the reasoning — because the discount question is where the other side's expert most often attacks.

Valuation date and the disclosure the expert relies on

The family law convention is that property is valued as at the date of the hearing, not the date of separation — so the valuation must reflect current trading, and a report prepared early in the matter may need updating before trial. Historical dates still arise, typically for contribution and add-back arguments, and are handled as retrospective valuations with the evidentiary discipline that entails. Both parties owe the court a duty of full and frank disclosure, and the single expert relies on it: shortly after instruction we issue a document request through the instructing lawyers, and the report records what was produced, what was not, and how any gaps were treated.

• ·Five years of financial statements and tax returns for each entity
• ·Year-to-date management accounts and the prior corresponding period
• ·Trust deeds, shareholder agreements, partnership agreements and constitutions
• ·Loan accounts and related-party transaction schedules, including Division 7A loans
• ·Owner remuneration, superannuation and private expenditure run through the business
• ·Key contracts, leases and any prior offers, appraisals or valuations

Conclaves, joint reports and cross-examination

A single expert's report is rarely the end of the evidence. The other party may put written questions to the expert, engage a shadow expert to critique the report, or seek leave to adduce their own expert evidence. Where two experts are on the record, the court commonly orders a conclave — a conference of experts producing a joint report that records where they agree and precisely why they differ. Every Prismi family law report is prepared for that environment: methodology choices are reasoned rather than asserted, every figure traces to a disclosed document, assumptions are stated so they can be tested, and a senior reviewer signs the report before it is issued. The working file is retained for ten years, so the basis of every conclusion can be produced if the matter returns.

Tier recommendation and scope

Family law engagements carry litigation scrutiny, so most single expert and adversarial appointments warrant the Defensible Valuation File tier (from $8,995 + GST, 25–35 business days). Shadow expert reviews and valuations supporting early negotiation or mediation typically sit at the Comprehensive tier (from $3,995 + GST). Where the parties' positions are far apart, the Valuation Range & Scenario Review premium engagement sets out the supportable range and the evidence behind each position within it. Additional entities in a group are $750 each, and historical valuation dates attract the retrospective surcharge of $495 per date. One boundary is fixed: Prismi provides valuation evidence only. We do not advise on property settlement entitlements, percentage divisions or litigation strategy — that is your family lawyer's role, and we work alongside them.