Who should know the legal definition for standard of value - the attorney or the appraiser?
David Greene (Practice World LLC) recently posted two questions on LinkedIn’s BV Professionals Group that received almost two dozen responses:
“How do you go about finding the standard of value to be used and the exact legal definition in the relevant jurisdiction?
Respondents agreed that there is really no standard legal definition of value. Michael Molder (Marcum LLP) says that the standard of value varies not only by jurisdiction but within a jurisdiction. “It can change depending on the nature of the claim,” he says. “The place to look for standards of value within a jurisdiction are the opinions of judges in other cases. This works best if you can find an opinion from the highest appellate court of a particular jurisdiction.”
Greene responded with another question:
“How do you deal with a divorce attorney who doesn't know or understand standard of value? Do you just make a 'legal interpretation' as a nonattorney and roll with that? Do you point the attorney to BVLaw? Do you provide selected articles and cases to the attorney?”
The answers varied, from those who are wary of working with attorneys who don’t know the definition, to those who think the valuation experts should know.
Email us with your thoughts, or join the LinkedIn group debate!