Valuation disputes arise in many contexts. Whether a legal dispute over a business dissolution or equitable distribution disagreement in a divorce proceeding, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is an expeditious and cost-effective way of the reaching a common ground.

Some of the most contentious legal disputes that confront attorneys center on valuation of property that is the subject of competing claims. Avoiding coming to grips with detailed valuation issues, and the concomitant need for expert testimony, by putting the property up for sale, and letting the market determine the value, is often not possible, or not feasible, or simply undesirable to one or more of the parties. There may be no market, or only a limited one, or it may not be possible to establish a protocol to assure that a sale is fair, and the best price obtained. The parties may disagree as to an appropriate listing or asking price. Even if a sale is in hand, there may be resistance to concluding the deal on the ground that the price does not represent true value or that the sales process was tainted in some fashion. What this all means is that in many instances an agreement needs to be arrived at, or a determination made, as to what the value of the property actually is.

Divorce Proceedings

Valuation disputes often arise in divorce cases where even if the separating spouses agree on what constitutes marital property subject to equitable distribution, they vehemently disagree as to the value of their holdings, whether residential real estate, commercial real estate, businesses, and investment properties. Equitable distribution issues become more complicated where the property in question is separate property and the non-titled spouse seeks an award on account of claimed appreciation in the value of the property since the marriage. In many cases, it is necessary to set the value of multiple items of property at multiple points in time. For example, where a spouse was gifted an interest in a business during marriage, with the value of the gift being separate property, it is critical to know the value of the gift at the time it was given as well as the value of the gifted interest at the time of commencement of the action at time of trial.