What this appraisal has to survive
A divorce appraisal is read by people looking for a reason to disagree with it.
That is the design constraint, and it is not the constraint on a purchase appraisal, which is read once by an underwriter and filed.
So the report sets out its reasoning instead of asserting a conclusion. Which comparable sales were selected and why. What adjustments were applied and on what basis. What was inspected and what was not.
Anything that would otherwise be an unstated assumption gets stated. If opposing counsel takes it apart line by line, the line-by-line is there to be taken apart.
The effective date is the first question, and it is not ours to answer
Counsel specifies it. The appraiser takes it as an instruction.
New Jersey is an equitable distribution state. Marital property is identified as of the filing of the complaint.
But the date on which the residence is valued for distribution is a separate, fact-specific determination — and it is frequently much closer to trial or settlement than to filing.
That matters commercially, not just procedurally. In a market that has moved, two candidate effective dates can be tens of thousands of dollars apart. Which is exactly why it gets negotiated.
Where the date is genuinely unresolved, say so at the outset. The engagement can be written so a second effective date is added later at a reduced fee, rather than commissioning a second appraisal outright.
Who engages the appraiser
Both arrangements are ordinary:
Jointly, or through both attorneys. One appraisal, one number, lower total cost, and no argument about whose expert said what. This is usually the sensible route where the parties are still able to agree on process.
By one party. Also fine. The USPAP ETHICS RULE requires impartiality and independence regardless of who is paying.
An appraiser who adjusts a conclusion to suit the party writing the cheque has committed a serious violation, not done a favour.
What retention determines is who the client is and who may receive the report. Not the value.
Either way, the report says plainly who engaged it and for what intended use.
On competing numbers
Before assuming two appraisals are irreconcilable, look at what is actually different between them.
In practice the gap almost always sits in one of three places:
- Different effective dates. Two correct appraisals of the same house on dates eight months apart should differ.
- Different comparable sales. Particularly where the property sits between two school districts, on an unusual lot, or in a town with thin sales volume.
- A specific adjustment. Finished basement, an addition without permits, functional obsolescence in the layout, deferred maintenance.
Each of those is arguable on the merits. That is a far better position to be in than “our appraiser said a bigger number.”
An agent’s opinion of value, a tax assessment, and an online estimate are not appraisals, and they do not become one by being stated confidently.
The tax assessment is a particularly poor proxy in New Jersey. Assessments are struck as of October 1 of the pre-tax year and drift from market value by design.
One capacity per matter
In a matrimonial matter only one capacity is ever taken: appraisal or brokerage. Never both.
That means no listing the marital home after appraising it.
The value of an independent appraisal to a contested distribution rests entirely on the appraiser having no stake in the outcome. A future commission is a stake.
Where a comparative market analysis is genuinely what someone needs, that is said before an appraisal assignment is accepted — never after.
What you receive
A written report with the specified effective date, a market value conclusion, and the comparable sales and adjustments relied on.
It carries a signed USPAP certification including the statement of independence, and is delivered to whoever the engagement letter names.
Fee is quoted in writing before work starts. Testimony, if it becomes necessary, is engaged and quoted separately.
This page describes appraisal practice. It is not legal advice, and nothing here should be substituted for your attorney’s judgement on valuation dates or distribution.
New Jersey specifics
- New Jersey is an equitable distribution state. Marital property is divided according to the statutory factors, not split automatically down the middle, and the appraisal supplies one input to that analysis.
- The valuation date in a New Jersey matrimonial matter is a legal determination, not an appraiser's choice. It is frequently a date near trial or distribution rather than the date the complaint was filed.
- Ordering an appraisal before the effective date is settled risks paying for the wrong date. Where counsel has not fixed it, say so and the engagement can be written to accommodate a second effective date at reduced cost.
- An appraiser engaged by one party is still bound to impartiality under USPAP. The appraiser is not, and cannot be, an advocate for the retaining party.
What you receive
- Appraisal report with the effective date specified by counsel or the parties
- Market value conclusion with comparable sales and adjustments fully explained
- Signed USPAP certification, including the statement of independence
- Digital delivery to whoever the engagement names — typically counsel for both parties, or the retaining attorney
What we need from you
- Who is engaging the appraisal — one party, both jointly, or counsel
- The effective date, or confirmation that it is still being negotiated
- Interior access to the property
- Any documented improvements, and any known defects