Division of property appraisal

[stephanie brammer]

Jurisdiction

California

Hello,
I have a complicated question. My partner has divorced and has a marriage settlement agreement signed 6/2022, part of the separation of property specifies that a certified appraiser give an official appraisal of over 100 residential properties owned by a company my partner co-owns. The appraiser was contracted and paid over $30,000 to perform the appraisal, only to come back with valuations of the properties, not appraisals which is what he was contracted for. The problem is his valuation of over 20 properties appear under valued, under appraised which has haled the process of separation of assets. My partner wants a proper appraisal performed, his ex-spouse does not agree and wishes to be given 2 additional properties since the total must equal 7.75million and with the valuation that was performed it is under 7.75million. My partner wishes to enforce with the 664.6 that the judge order the appraiser to re-do her job and render official appraisals and correct the market value of the properties that were selected by his ex-wife so that he won't have to give over more houses to equal the 7.75million they agreed on. his current attorney is suggesting more mediation, however previous mediations have been fruitless. My partner wishes to persuade the judge to force the appraisal be redone. I have not been able to find any case law with this particular issue during marriage/settlement agreements. This has now delayed his situation a year arguing back and forth with his ex-wife and trying to arbitrate and he is looking for any case precedents or options to either void/nullify his marriage settlement agreement, or to have the appraisals done as ordered by the court as part of his civil marriage settlement process. His lawyer says it is possible to sue the appraiser separately in civil court for non-performance, violation of contract, pain, suffering and the additional legal fees he has incurred as a result of this error but honestly, we can not decide which is the best course of action. He has also been having to pay for his ex-wife's legal fees, living expenses and alimony all this time has has not been able to finalize the appraisal process and sign over the deeds to the houses his ex-wife has chosen as part of her separation of property/spousal support buyout so it has been costly. Has anyone come across such as case or can anyone refer me to a precedent of such a case that involves a marriage settlement agreement and an appraisal that was contested because it was done as a valuation or houses under appraised and the court intervened? Or does anyone have any experience or advice?

 

[zddoodah]

My partner has divorced and has a marriage settlement agreement signed 6/2022

I'll assume that this MSA was adopted by the court as part of the divorce judgment. I'll also assume you're talking about a boyfriend.

part of the separation of property specifies that a certified appraiser give an official appraisal of over 100 residential properties owned by a company my partner co-owns. The appraiser was contracted and paid over $30,000 to perform the appraisal, only to come back with valuations of the properties, not appraisals which is what he was contracted for.

What do you think is the difference between a "valuation" and an "appraisal"?

My partner wishes to enforce with the 664.6 that the judge order the appraiser to re-do her job

I assume this is a reference to section 664.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure. However, that's not what 664.6 is for, and the appraiser is not subject to the court's jurisdiction.

His lawyer says it is possible to sue the appraiser separately in civil court for non-performance, violation of contract, pain, suffering and the additional legal fees he has incurred as a result of this error

If his lawyer suggested that "pain and suffering" could be recovered in an action like this, I hope the lawyer is better with family law than with tort law, because that's utter nonsense.

Has anyone come across such as case or can anyone refer me to a precedent of such a case that involves a marriage settlement agreement and an appraisal that was contested because it was done as a valuation or houses under appraised and the court intervened?

I'm sure there are tons of cases involving disputed real property appraisals. If your boyfriend doesn't think the appraisals already obtained are good, he can pay to have others done, and he can fight with his ex over which appraisals should be used. When they can't agree, he can take the matter back to the divorce court. It's impossible to predict how that will turn out, except that it will make a lot of money for the lawyers.

Or does anyone have any ... advice?

Yeah...stay out of it and let the professionals (appraisers and lawyers) do their job. No divorce lawyer wants a client with a girlfriend digging for precedent.

 

[adjusterjack]

20 properties "appear" undervalued out of 100 and this has been dragging on for a year. Well, it's going to get worse. In the past year residential property values have been decreasing and will continue to decrease. Eventually more than 20 will be valued at less than they are now.

At the same time he will be bleeding more money in lawyer fees. Of course the lawyers want this fight to continue. They have a real cash cow.

My advice, give her the additional two properties that she wants and be done with it. He'll still be a multimillionaire.