Skip to content
Mr. Cali Appraisals home
Request an appraisal
Call (909) 324-6122

Divorce & Dissolution Appraisal in Claremont and the Inland Empire

A USPAP-compliant appraisal of the marital residence prepared for property division, written to be read by a mediator, a family law attorney or a judge. Gordon Hall works from either party's request or a joint engagement and documents the comparable selection and adjustments in plain language so both sides can review the reasoning. Retrospective value dates, such as date of marriage or date of separation, can be addressed in the same assignment.

Gordon Hall, California Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, BREA No. AR003877 (opens the state license lookup)

Who orders this

  • Family law attorneys for either party
  • Mediators who want one jointly engaged appraiser
  • Divorcing homeowners working without counsel
  • A spouse considering a buyout of the other's interest

What the report includes

  • The engagement stated on the face of the report: one party, both parties, or both attorneys, and who the intended users are
  • One or more effective dates, for example current value and a retrospective date such as the date of separation, each defined
  • The client, the intended use (what the report will be used for) and the intended users (who may rely on it), stated on the first page
  • The effective date, the date the opinion of value applies to, and the date of the report
  • The scope of work, meaning the inspection, research and analysis performed, including any limits on access
  • Comparable sales chosen for era, pocket and lot character, each with the reason it was used
  • Adjustments for differences such as gross living area, lot size, condition and location, each explained
  • Interior and exterior photographs and a measured sketch of the living area
  • A signed certification with Gordon Hall's California license, BREA No. AR003877

The page a reviewer reads first is the sales comparison grid: the subject beside the closed sales, every difference adjusted and explained. This is its shape, left blank.

Sales comparison approach

File no. blank

Sales comparison, blank
RowSubjectComp. 1Comp. 2Comp. 3
Addressblankblankblankblank
Sale dateblankblankblankblank
Sale priceblankblankblankblank
Gross living areablankblankblankblank
Lot sizeblankblankblankblank
Year builtblankblankblankblank
Conditionblankblankblankblank
View / siteblankblankblankblank
Adjustmentsblankblankblankblank
Adjusted valueblankblankblankblank
Figures come from the inspection and the closed sales on your blocks. A blank grid is shown because report contents are confidential under USPAP.

What we need from you

  • The property address and who will provide access on inspection day
  • The purpose of the appraisal and who will read the report (lender, court, assessor, CPA, trustee or yourself)
  • Permits, plans or a survey for any addition, remodel or ADU
  • A list of improvements with approximate dates
  • The value date or dates your attorney or mediator needs
  • Who will let the appraiser in, and whether both parties should be notified of the inspection time

Marital homes on both sides of the county line

Family law matters here often involve houses that do not fit a tract pattern: a Village Craftsman with a rear unit, a postwar ranch north of Foothill Boulevard with a converted garage, a Claraboya hillside house with a view that one spouse values and the other does not. Each of those needs comparable sales chosen for the same era and pocket, and each adjustment explained, because the report will be read by two sides who start from different numbers. Joint engagements are common for exactly that reason: one report, delivered to both parties or both attorneys at the same time.

Matters filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court and matters filed in the San Bernardino County Superior Court can concern houses on either side of the line that runs east of the Claremont Colleges and along Mills Avenue at Montclair. When a comparable sale comes from across that line, the report states why it was used and how location was adjusted. Retrospective dates are handled the same way as estate work: sales that closed on or before the date in question, and the condition of the house as the evidence shows it then, with any assumption stated.

Timeline and next step

Reports are typically delivered three to five business days from the inspection. The inspection runs 30 to 60 minutes for a standard single-family home, longer for hillside, custom, multi-family or homes with additions that need to be measured and sketched.

Declarations and testimony, if the matter requires them, are scoped at engagement so the timeline accounts for them.

The fee is set by the scope of the assignment and quoted before work begins. It does not depend on the value, and it is never contingent on a result.

Send the address and the value date or dates through the order form, or call (909) 324-6122. If a hearing or mediation date is set, note it so we can tell you straight away whether it is workable.

Straight answers

Questions

Can a family law court rely on your report in a divorce case?
Reports are USPAP-compliant and written to be reviewed line by line by a mediator, opposing counsel or a judge, with the comparable selection and adjustments explained in plain language. Admissibility is always the court's decision, not the appraiser's. Declarations and testimony are available when a matter requires them, and that should be discussed at engagement so the scope and timeline account for it.
Can both parties in a divorce rely on one report?
Yes, when the engagement names both parties or both attorneys as intended users, the people entitled to rely on the report. A joint engagement means one inspection and one report delivered to everyone at once. Either side may still hire its own appraiser instead.
Can you value the house as of the date of separation?
Yes. That is a retrospective appraisal, meaning the effective date is in the past. The comparable sales come from that period, and the report can state a current value in the same assignment if your attorney needs both.

Related appraisals

Request this appraisal

The property, the purpose and the effective date set the scope and the fee, which is quoted before work begins.

Gordon Hall, California Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, BREA No. AR003877 (opens the state license lookup)

The property and the assignment

Effective date of value (optional)

The date the value has to apply to: today, or a date in the past such as a date of death or separation.

How to reach you

Additions, an ADU, a prior appraisal, a hearing date: whatever shapes the scope.

Nothing is scheduled until you say so.

Prepared by Gordon Hall, California Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, BREA No. AR003877. Reports are prepared in conformity with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). The appraiser is independent of both parties and does not advocate for either. Nothing here is legal advice; admissibility is always the court's decision.

Get the value documented before someone else needs it.

Two minutes for a fee quote and a turnaround date. Nothing is scheduled until you say so.

Request an appraisal