Choosing a Divorce Appraisal in Charlotte

A good divorce appraisal is one both sides can read without arguing about where the number came from. Here is what to look for when you choose who will do it.

The report should name its date

North Carolina values a marital home as of the date of separation (G.S. 50-21(b)). A report that does not say which date it values is not much use to your attorney. Ask what date the appraiser would use and why.

The house as it was, not only as it is

A look back to the separation date has to describe the house on that date. Photographs, listings and repair records from that period help the appraiser separate what changed after.

Clear about who the client is

Decide with your attorney who engages the appraiser, who may rely on the report and where it is going: negotiation, mediation, a buyout or trial. Ask the appraiser to confirm in writing what the report is for.

Plain on what an appraisal does not do

An appraisal reports what the house was worth. It does not decide who keeps it, how the mortgage is split or what each spouse receives. Those questions belong to the parties, their attorneys and the court.

What happens in Mecklenburg County

Each spouse files an ED Affidavit on Local Form CCF-33 at least ten calendar days before the initial pretrial conference. Appraisals are among the papers served with it, and at the conference the court decides which assets need to be appraised. Ask your attorney when your conference is. Once you have the separation date and want the house valued as of that day, call us.

If you would like to talk it through, call (980) 580-7007. Our divorce appraisal page explains how the process works in Mecklenburg County.