One valuer for both sides: the cheaper way

By Parish Rao · 24 August 2026 · 5 minute read

In a family partition, both sides usually hire their own valuer, get two numbers far apart, and end up with a court appointed third valuer anyway. There is a shorter route, and families who take it keep more of the property's value.

What normally happens

Each side engages a valuer. Each valuer understands, without anyone saying it aloud, what number would help their client. One report values the house high, the other low, and the gap can be forty percent or more.

The court now has two documents that cancel each other out. The usual response is to appoint an independent valuer or a court commissioner. Months pass. The family has paid for three valuations and used only the third.

The alternative

Both sides agree on one valuer at the start, in writing, with terms both accept. The valuer reports to both parties simultaneously. Neither side gets a private preview and neither can quietly discard an unfavourable result.

Courts receive jointly commissioned valuations well, precisely because neither side chose the number.

Why families resist, and whether the fear is real

The worry is loss of control. If I cannot influence the number, what if it goes against me?

Look at where that logic actually leads. You cannot influence the court appointed valuer either, and that is where contested matters end up. All the partisan valuation buys is delay and an extra fee. Meanwhile the property sits undivided and the family relationships get worse.

There is also a real risk in the other direction. A report that was obviously written to order can damage the party that filed it, because it suggests everything else from that side needs checking too.

Terms worth agreeing before appointment

• Exactly which properties are covered, and which portions of each.
• The date the valuation speaks to. Today, or a past date, as covered in valuing a property as it stood years ago.
• How the fee is shared, usually equally.
• That the report goes to both parties at the same time.
• Who provides access, and by when.
• Whether the valuer will appear before the court if required.
• That both sides may ask written questions about the report.

That last point matters. Being able to question the valuer removes the feeling of being handed a verdict.

It works outside court too

Most family property disputes never need to be filed. Where siblings are still speaking, one jointly agreed valuation frequently ends the matter in an afternoon, because the argument was never really about law. It was about a number nobody trusted. We cover the arithmetic in dividing one house between siblings.

How we handle joint appointments

We take them on clear written terms, we speak to both sides or to both advocates together rather than separately, and we issue to everyone at once. If the matter is already filed, we work to whatever the court has directed.

Read about court and litigation valuation, or have both advocates call us together.