Valuation for Divorce: How to Value Your Assets During Divorce

Key Points Summary

• All assets over £500 must be valued and disclosed during divorce, even if they won’t be shared
• You’ll sign a legal form confirming valuations are accurate – courts take this seriously
• Most valuations for divorce can be done simply without expensive professional help
• Property: agree between yourselves, use three estate agents, or get a surveyor for complex cases
• Business values depend on type – asset-based, income-based or market comparison methods work
• Pensions need Cash Equivalent Transfer Values from providers (can take 3 months)
• Vehicles, jewellery and personal items can usually be valued using online tools and agreement
• New assets like cryptocurrency, overseas property and debts all need including
• Family mediation helps couples agree fair values without expensive disputes

Divorce brings many challenges, and working out how to value assets fairly is one of the trickiest parts. Whether you’re dealing with your family home, a business, pension, or even Bitcoin, getting the correct asset valuation in divorce is a legal requirement for reaching a fair settlement.

Disclosing your assets through either a Form E, mediation spreadsheets or on a Form D81 will require you take stock of all your debts and assets – irrespective of when you acquired them. The court expects valuations on everything worth over £500. This is called a financial disclosure and you’ll likely be signing a legal form to confirm these figures are accurate. Your agreement could be revoked at a later date if you are not accurate at this stage.

Remember, many asset valuations don’t need expensive professionals. Simple methods often work perfectly well for typical family assets.

Property Valuation

Your home is usually your biggest asset, so getting the valuation right really matters. With house prices changing recently, the timing and method you choose can make a real difference to your settlement.

Agree on the Price Between Yourselves

This works well if you’ve just bought the property or it’s already under offer. You can agree the value between yourselves in any situation, but you both need to feel confident it’s accurate.

Some people check online tools like Zoopla or Rightmove for a rough idea, but these can be way off – sometimes by tens of thousands of pounds. They’re a starting point but not reliable enough for divorce proceedings.

Three Estate Agent Valuations and Take the Average

This is what most people do. Why three? Because valuations can be very different from agent to agent. Ask them for realistic selling values, not inflated asking prices.

Get three agents to visit your property in person and take the average of their valuations. Courts usually accept this as the true property value.

Pay for a Professional Valuation

You only need a chartered surveyor if your property is unusual or you can’t agree using the other methods. They cost upwards of £750 plus VAT, but their valuation report will definitely be accepted by the courts.This works well for unique properties where there’s little to compare with in the local market or when you cannot agree between you. You would usually instruct the surveyor jointly, to ensure impartiality. We’ve written about what to do when property prices are falling, which you can read in our dedicated blog on this topic.Note: It is standard practice to remove 2% from the value of a property to reflect the costs of selling, such as estate agent and conveyancer fees. 

Business Valuations

If you own a business, you’ll need to work out what it’s worth. The method depends on what type of business you have.

Asset-Based Valuation

This means adding up everything the business owns (equipment, stock, property) and taking away what it owes. It works well for businesses with lots of physical things, like manufacturing companies or shops with valuable stock.

Income-Based Valuation

This looks at how much money the business makes now and is likely to make in future. It’s good for service businesses or companies with steady income streams.

Market-Based Valuation

This compares your business to similar ones that have sold recently. It works when there are other businesses like yours being bought and sold regularly.

Many small family businesses don’t need expensive professional valuations. Your accountant can often help work out a reasonable figure, or you might be able to agree something based on recent profits.

For our detailed guide about family businesses in divorce, read our blog: Business Assets in Divorce.

Pensions

Pensions can be worth a lot of money, so they’re important to get right. How you value them depends on whether you’re already getting payments or they’re still building up.

If you’re not receiving pension payments yet, ask your pension provider for a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (sometimes called CETV, CEV, CE or transfer value). This can take up to three months to get, so ask as soon as possible.

For complex pension arrangements, or final salary pensions, you might need advice from an actuary or Pension on Divorce Expert (PODE), they can help you work out how to offset a pension, what the true value is worth is currently or if you wish to equalise pension income in retirement.

Read our Ultimate Guide to Pensions on Divorce for more detailed information.

Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets

More people now own Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies, so these need including in your asset list. The tricky part is that crypto values change constantly.

Jess from Mediate UK explains: “We worked with a couple where one partner had Bitcoin worth £15,000 one week and £12,000 the next. We helped them agree to use the value on a specific date to avoid arguments about daily changes.”

You can value cryptocurrency by:

• Taking the value on a specific date (like when you exchange financial information)
• Using an average over a period (like the past month) to smooth out daily ups and downs
• Getting a professional crypto valuation if you have substantial holdings or complex investments

Be honest about all your digital wallets and crypto holdings. These transactions can be traced, so hiding them isn’t worth the risk.

Overseas Assets

If you own property abroad, have foreign bank accounts, or overseas investments, these all need including too.

You’ll need to convert foreign currency values to pounds, usually using exchange rates from when you prepare your financial information. For overseas property, you might need a local estate agent or surveyor to provide a valuation, then convert it to sterling.

Think about any tax you might have to pay if you sell overseas assets, as this affects their real value to you. Fluctuations in exchange rate can impact the value of overseas assets significantly, but start off by using the exchange rate at the date of valuation. This can always be updated later in the process if required to be fair.

Jewellery and Personal Valuables

You need to list jewellery, antiques, artwork and other valuables worth over £500. For most everyday items, you don’t need expensive professional valuations.

Ways to Value Jewellery

• Agree between yourselves – If you both feel confident about what something’s worth, you can simply agree on the value.
• Professional appraisal – For expensive pieces or family heirlooms, a certified jewellery appraiser can give you an accurate value.
• Check similar items online – Look at what similar pieces sell for on websites, at auctions, or in jewellery shops.

Antiques and Artwork

For valuable antiques or art, you might need a specialist valuer, but only if the items are worth significant amounts. Insurance valuations are often quite high because they cover replacement costs, not what you’d actually get if you sold the item.