Independent, court ready valuations for family property in British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon and Ontario.
A divorce or separation appraisal is an independent, professionally prepared opinion of your property’s market value. Completed by a designated appraiser with no interest in the outcome, it provides you, the other party and your legal counsel with a credible value to rely upon during negotiations or legal proceedings.
Disagreements often arise not over whether the property should be divided, but over what it is worth. One person may rely on a similar recent sale, while the other has an estimate from a real estate agent hoping to secure the listing. Neither figure was necessarily prepared to withstand professional or legal scrutiny.
A formal appraisal is different. The appraiser remains impartial and receives the same fee regardless of the value concluded. The property is physically inspected, relevant comparable sales are analyzed, and all adjustments and conclusions are clearly documented. The report is signed by a professionally accountable appraiser and prepared in accordance with the Canadian Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.
This is an important distinction, as the laws in your province or territory may determine the type of appraisal you require.
Most articles about divorce appraisals are written for Ontario or for the United States, and they state one rule as though it applies everywhere. It does not.
| British Columbia | Alberta | Ontario | Yukon | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statute | Family Law Act | Family Property Act | Family Law Act | Family Law Act |
| Unmarried couples covered? | Yes, after two years living in a marriage like relationship | Yes, adult interdependent partners | No | No |
| Property valued as of | Date of the agreement or the hearing | Date of trial, unless agreed otherwise | Date of separation | Date of the marriage breakdown |
| Property one of you brought in | Excluded, but the increase during the relationship is generally divisible | Exempt, with the court holding discretion over the growth | Deductible at the date of marriage, except the matrimonial home | Family and non-family assets are treated differently |
In BC and Alberta the relevant date is ahead of you. Order the appraisal close to when you expect to settle, not the month you separated, and expect to refresh it if the file drags.
In Ontario and Yukon the relevant date is behind you. What you need is a retrospective valuation, which values the property using market evidence from that day rather than today.
In Ontario the matrimonial home gets no date-of-marriage deduction. A spouse who brought the home into the marriage generally shares its full value at separation, not just the growth. So if you are in Ontario and the property is the matrimonial home, a valuation as of your wedding date may do nothing for your file. Worth asking before you pay for one.
Where one of you owned the property beforehand, inherited it, or received it as a gift, the file often needs two effective dates rather than one: the start of the relationship and the date the rules give you. The gap between them is what gets divided.
We are appraisers, not lawyers. Your family lawyer decides which date applies. Our job is to value the property accurately as of whatever date you are given.
People often begin with a free estimate, only to discover later that it is not sufficient for negotiations or legal proceedings.
A realtor’s comparative market analysis is a pricing opinion, usually prepared free and often prepared to win a listing. No required standard, no documented adjustments, no professional liability. Two agents can hand you two very different numbers and neither is accountable for the gap.
A property assessment notice is a mass appraisal built to divide a tax burden, and none of them inspected your home:
An appraisal carries a stated effective date, an inspection, documented comparable sales, and a signature from a designated appraiser.
That difference shows up in three places. A lawyer can attach an appraisal to a settlement document. An appraiser can be qualified to give evidence if the matter goes to court, where a realtor’s opinion generally cannot carry the same weight. And if one of you is buying the other out, the lender funding the refinance will require an appraisal anyway.
A free estimate is only cheap if nobody challenges it.
An appraiser’s duty is to the accuracy of the opinion, not to whoever wrote the cheque. Our fee does not change based on final valuation, and we do not take assignments conditional on the value landing in a particular range.
There are three normal arrangements:
Worth raising the joint option with your lawyer even if the relationship is strained. Two separate appraisals often land close enough that the argument was not worth what it cost.
One practical note: we need access to inspect the property and it goes far more smoothly when both parties know the appointment is coming.
Separating couples rarely own only a house, and most appraisers in this space are residential only. We can value the whole picture in one file.
Every report includes the effective date and why it applies, the property description and inspection findings, the valuation approaches used, the comparable sales with the adjustments shown, the final opinion of value, and the appraiser’s signature and designation. It is written so a lawyer, a mediator or a judge can follow the reasoning without an appraisal background.
Fees are quoted per file, because no two separations involve the same property. What moves the number:
Tell us the property type, the province, and the date you need it valued at. You will have a fee estimate the same day, with no obligation.
Every file is different. Fees depend on property type, complexity, and how far back the effective date sits. A straightforward residential valuation is different work from a multi-parcel agricultural holding.
Tell us what you need.
Property type, location, and the effective date.
Get a same-day estimate.
A fee and a scope, confirmed before any work begins, with no obligation.
We inspect and research.
On-site inspection plus market evidence from the effective date.
You receive the report.
A full narrative appraisal, written to be read by a CRA reviewer.
One, jointly instructed, is usually enough and usually cheaper. Two happen when one party has obtained a valuation the other will not accept. Separately, your file may need two effective dates rather than two appraisals, which depends on your province and on whether one of you brought the property in. Those are different things and worth being clear about with your lawyer.
Yes. Joint retainer by both parties or both lawyers is a normal and accepted arrangement, and the obligation to produce an independent opinion does not change based on who pays.
That depends on where you live, and the table above sets out the four rules. Your lawyer confirms the date and we value as of that date.
Yes. We appraise across British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon and Ontario, with appraisers who know each of those markets and who are used to the fact that the valuation date rule is not the same in each.
That depends on your province. British Columbia and Alberta both extend property division to qualifying unmarried couples. Ontario and Yukon do not, under their family property statutes, so claims there run through other legal routes. A defensible value helps in all four.
Possibly not. The matrimonial home in Ontario does not get the date-of-marriage deduction that most other property does. Ask your lawyer before you spend the money.
Access needs arranging, and it is far easier when both parties know the appointment is coming. Where access cannot be obtained there are alternatives, though an inspection based appraisal is always the stronger report. Tell us the situation when you call so we can scope it realistically.
An appraisal is an opinion supported by evidence and it can be reviewed. If something material was missed, such as an upgrade, a condition issue or a comparable sale, raise it. What does not change the number is one party wanting it to be higher or lower.
The report goes to whoever instructed it, and where two parties jointly retain us, both receive it. We do not share reports outside the engagement without instruction. Timing depends on the property and whether a retrospective date is involved, and we confirm a realistic timeline with the fee estimate so you are not guessing.
Tell us the property type, location, and what you need the appraisal for. We will confirm whether we can handle the assignment and provide a fee estimate — same day, no obligation.
