My partner and I have assets that need to be listed with values in our ‘prenuptial’ BFA. These include her delicatessen and my upholstery business that have both been in existence for over 10 years. Are estimates sufficient?
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Answer by Penelope Stevens of Faraday Law, Brisbane 4000 Qld
- Generally no but formal valuations are rather costly especially for businesses.
- Whilst it may be sufficient to agree on estimated market values of home contents and cars I recommend more formality for significant assets such as:
- businesses:
- an indicative appraisal from the accountant as a minimum for the business; and
- ideally an independent expert;
- real estate:
- at least an estimate based on agents’ appraisals; or
- a registered valuer will charge around $600 per property; and
- superannuation:
- obtain current statements from each fund.