Divorce Appraisal

Valuing the marital home in a Michigan divorce

In many Michigan divorces the house is the asset both spouses care most about, and each needs a figure they can check. A divorce appraisal gives an opinion of what that one house was worth on a stated date, for a stated use. How the house or its value is then divided is for the spouses, their attorneys and the court; the report does not settle shares, the mortgage or the terms of a buyout.

How Michigan law treats property in a divorce

• Division the court considers just and reasonable. Under MCL 552.19, the court may award either spouse all or part of the real and personal estate that came to either of them by reason of the marriage, or its value in money, "as it shall deem just and reasonable".
• When one spouse's separate property can be reached. If what a party is awarded is insufficient for the suitable support and maintenance of that party and the children in that party's care, MCL 552.23(1) lets the court award part of the other party's property. Under MCL 552.401, a party who contributed to the acquisition, improvement or accumulation of property owned by the other spouse may be awarded all or part of it, as is equitable.
• No community-property rule. IRS Publication 555 names nine community-property states, and Michigan is not one of them.

This is a plain-words summary of the statutes, not legal advice; your attorney applies them to your case.

Which court hears the case

Divorce belongs to the family division of the circuit court, which has sole and exclusive jurisdiction over divorce cases (MCL 600.1021). For the places this site names:

• Grand Haven and the Ottawa County side of Holland: the 20th Circuit Court. Its case records sit with the Circuit Court Records Division of the Ottawa County Clerk & Register of Deeds.
• Muskegon: the 14th Circuit Court, whose Family Division lists divorces among the cases it hears.
• The Allegan County side of Holland: the Allegan County Circuit Court Family Division, in the 48th Circuit Court of Allegan County.

Settle three things before the inspection

The date the value must carry

We found no Michigan statute or court rule that fixes the date a marital home is valued. Ask your attorney which date the report should carry, and tell us before work starts. If that date has already passed, the assignment is retrospective, and the appraiser researches the sales and conditions that applied then.

Market value, not an assessment figure

The figures on a Michigan assessment notice are not a market value for the home: assessed value is set at half of true cash value, and taxable value is capped from year to year until the property changes hands (MCL 211.27a). A divorce appraisal develops a market-value opinion for the house itself, as of the date your case uses.

Comparable sales that fit

Homes in Grand Haven's East End or Highland Park districts, or in Muskegon, are not interchangeable. Lot size, age, condition, renovations and exact location determine which sales the analysis can lean on, and the report explains why each one was used.

Tax rules that follow the house

Once one spouse keeps the house, two state rules often come up:

• Taxable value. Michigan's General Property Tax Act excludes a transfer "from 1 spouse to the other spouse" from the transfers that reset taxable value (MCL 211.27a(7)(a)).
• The principal residence exemption. The Michigan Department of Treasury says that after a divorce, the spouse who no longer owns and occupies the home must file a Request to Rescind Principal Residence Exemption (Form 2602) with the assessor (Treasury guidance).

Ask your attorney, or the local assessor, how each one applies to a transfer under your judgment. Grand Haven's assessing is handled by Ottawa County under contract; Muskegon County has an Equalization Department, and the City of Holland has its own Assessing Office.

Gather before you call

• Address and property type (single-family home, condominium, townhome or other).
• Who is ordering: one spouse, both together, or an attorney, and who else will rely on the report.
• The effective date from your attorney or mediator, and any date already set in the case.
• Who controls access to the house while the case is open.
• Whether both spouses mean to rely on one report; if so, say it at the start so both can be named as intended users.
• For a past date: dated records of additions, repairs or damage.

The work, from scope to review

1. Scope put on paper. Tell us what the value is for, who will read it, the date it must reflect and your deadline. We then confirm in writing what the report will cover, what it costs and when it should arrive.
2. Seeing the house. We book the visit with whichever spouse, or attorney, controls entry to the house.
3. From sales data to a value. Sales and market data from around the effective date are weighed against the house as inspected, and the appraiser explains the reasoning that leads to the value.
4. When the report reaches you. Read the report's effective date, intended use, named users, assumptions and limits, and flag any factual mistake to the appraiser.

Testimony, or any work beyond the written report, is discussed separately before the assignment is accepted.

Price and schedule for a divorce appraisal

For a Michigan divorce, ask for a written scope, fee and delivery estimate tailored to this house and the date your case uses. Looking back to an earlier date, a larger or unusual home, restricted access and a short runway can each move the price and the schedule. If a conference or hearing is close, mention the date on the first call; rush appraisals explains what earlier delivery depends on. If the case also involves an inherited home or an open estate, see estate appraisals and probate appraisals.

Send the address and the date your attorney gave you

Call 231-638-4774 or request a quote. A Michigan street address, a sentence on why the value is needed and the effective date are enough to begin.