Divorce Appraisal

[shrubberyvaluation]

I believe there's a lot of unsettled debate with how to interpret the role of an appraiser in regards to litigation assignments. I believe that @TerryRohrer is an experienced and competent appraiser based on the posts I read, however, the post about assisting the attorney with cross-examination strategy may be considered advocacy by others. To be clear, I've been instructed to do the same by several other experienced appraisers as well as my mentor, with the added emphasis to do it while remaining unbiased and objective. More than likely, the attorney that hires you has probably expected that and received that assistance from other appraisers before.

There are a lot of grey areas. In my eyes the main the issues come with not being unbiased and objective (if your opinions would differ based on your client's wants/needs). I agree with you.

 

[Mark K]

I've completed appraisals for an attorney for a divorce and reviewed the other side's appraisal for the same case. The att'y that hired me paid me to review the other report and list any areas where I thought the report was deficient. I wasn't acting as an advocate for anyone.

 

[Fernando]

I don't do divorce appraisals. I don't want to deal with emotional parties.
I admit I don't understand exactly what you're going through.
For me when I work with private parties, as an appraiser I see the possible problems in which some may accuse me of.
For example, a friend contacted me to do an appraisal for his/her estate property. If I sense there's an issue with my appraisal with the other siblings, I rather decline the assignment.
You as the appraiser can see the possible issues if you can be an advocate. Listen to your conscious.

 

[Ricky LaFleur]

I've completed appraisals for an attorney for a divorce and reviewed the other side's appraisal for the same case. The att'y that hired me paid me to review the other report and list any areas where I thought the report was deficient. I wasn't acting as an advocate for anyone.

I think performing the appraisal then following up by performing the review, as you mentioned, is the cleanest approach to handle this. By completing an appraisal review as an appraiser, you were required to not be an advocate by USPAP.

To the OP: Consulting (when not acting as an appraiser) allows you to tear apart the other side with vehement prejudice and act as an advocate for the client. As Terry mentioned, who better than an appraiser to perform this particular type of consulting. This role would preclude an advocate from performing an appraisal review, though, as they are obviously acting as an advocate with bias.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

assuming I cannot do this.

You certainly can feel that way, but I don't read it that way. They are expecting you consult for them, and the problem with "review" is that there are standards for review and "review" IMNSHO, is a function of banking. What we do in the case of litigation is consulting. We are not "reviewing" the report rather advising the attorney about the report. Review suggests a systematic assessment of USPAP compliance.

Your role as a consultant is to identify weak points in the appraiser's report not to determine if it is right or wrong or complies with USPAP. For instance, an appraiser on the stand made a statement about the buyers of the property being "uninformed" or "ill-advised" since they were Hmong immigrants who lived in Minnesota for years before becoming chicken farmers in Arkansas. That's racist on the face of it, but that appraiser was using sales including one where the buyer was Stephen Lee. Being from outside the area, the appraiser was unaware that Stephen Lee was a Hmong and a Realtor too. He was one of the agents' recruiting buyers in Minnesota and was a grower himself. I informed my client's attorney that he was using a sale by a Hmong with contradicted his testimony. She ripped his guts out when it came time for her to cross-examine. His side lost mainly because he was not credible. Eventually, he went on to the next case in Missouri and there the defense demanded a Daubert test and the judge excluded him from testifying. The lawyers folded their tent and went home and withdrew from a large number of similar tort cases as a result since they relied solely upon that appraisers not so credible testimony.

 

[Raven59]

You can perform the appraisal and review but not be an advocate in either. Or you can do neither and be a consultant. The appraisal/review must be unbiased. Which path you take is based on your client needs. Your review could help or hurt the client, but that is not your problem. If the appraiser and reviewer route I generally complete the appraisal before seeing/reviewing the other report. It’s not greatest place to be but clients don’t want to hire two experts.

 

[sputnam]

If you always approach the task with the idea that you will tell the story of the property... without consideration to the persons involved... you will be golden.

 

[Tom D]

anything you say that has a value number of your own doing is an appraisal. a review is an appraisal because you are discussing your opinion of that value, of which you had to determine a value to say it be good, or bad. as an advocate you would be only asking the other appraisers involved about their values only, not your opinion on their value. advocates advocate someone else's expertise, not their own.
now you might be more smarter than the attorney as to what questions the attorney should ask, so the attorney is looking to you for some fault in the other appraisal. but if the attorney is asking you on the stand about your opinion or the other opinion, then you are an appraiser, obviously an advocator of you own smart value opinion.