Lee
This work, lawyers dub it "equitable distribution" was my bread and butter for 12 years, after the first year, I almost always got hired by both sides. Saved every body time and money.
Good advice provided by every one, I ultimately went to nothing but a heavily formated narrative report. The URAR was designed for lending and "fixing" the form so the term lender did not appear, describing the client, the purpose, stating intended user was just too hard.
Be sure you state something like the following regarding the users. My client is Attorney Smith for the purpose of litigation pursuant to equitable distribution of the marital assest of the property owners. No other intended users or uses have been identified. Specifically, parties who recieve this report through disclosure requirements of my client are not intended users in the context of USPAP.
Be sure you get the date right ;something like, The effective date of the appraisal is xx Octber 2000, the date of separation (this is typical in NC check with your attorney for the requirements in your state) , the date of the property inspection was xx September 2002. As this is a retrospective appraisal, some assumptions regarding the condition of the property have been made, see property description for discussion of assumptions..
Charge more and as you note charge for court time. Also, it is legit to charge for standing by. If the attorney says, we may need you on Monday or Tuesday, charge something for having lost the flexibility to do other work. The attorney will understand, the property owner won't like it but this is a business.
The final thing, if asked to testify or make a deposition, try to anticipate the weaknesses of your work. This will help you answer the hard questions.
Regards
Tom Hildebrandt GAA