Hiring A Joint Expert For Divorce Litigation

By Troy Luh, Harvey Wallace, and Donna Beck Smith

More often than not, the most challenging type of litigation is divorce litigation. An expert is often hired by one side to value a business interest or any high-value asset owned by one or both of the parties involved in the divorce. The typical scenario for a divorce engagement is when one side hires an expert witness to value a business this subsequently forces the other side to hire its own expert. However, this doesn’t always have to be the rule, and in many cases, it may be smart to consider a joint expert – to work for both sides. This can reduce costs, save time, and provide for a more accurate valuation.

Hiring one expert can reduce the overall cost of litigation support services. The most obvious saving is the cost of hiring one expert witness as opposed to two. Depending on the extent of the services required, the fees can often run as high as $5,000 to $15,000, especially if a comprehensive business valuation report is required. This cost is doubled when each side hires its own expert witness. In addition, the cost of the engagement can easily increase even more if you are constantly starting and stopping work because key documents are not available. Overall, the use of one expert witness is more efficient and less costly.

Utilizing one expert can also speed-up the entire litigation process. As previously mentioned, a significant amount of time is often wasted waiting on documents from the opposing party, which must, in some cases, be litigated to be received, further delaying the process. When one expert is hired and agreed to by both parties, there is more cooperation in obtaining documents and he or she can more efficiently contact both parties for information required by the case.

Finally, hiring one expert witness can result in a more accurate valuation conclusion. The judge’s ultimate decision of value is often based on a compromise of values stated by the two expert witnesses. It is not uncommon for the judge to “split the difference.” Consequently, the assigned value does not represent the true value. A common scenario is where the expert for the spouse that owns the business submits a low value and the other side submits a high value. This gives the appearance that the expert witness is just a “hired gun” testifying to whatever the attorney tells him to, violating the expert’s professional standards to avoid client advocacy.

In conclusion, hiring one expert allows the expert to hear both sides of the facts and reduce the likelihood of being overly influenced by one side. It reduces the overall cost, time taken, and can result in more accurate valuations. Hiring one expert for family litigation definitely provides more creditability to the profession and reduces the appearance of opinions for sale.

Brown Smith Wallace is the second-largest locally owned full-service CPA and business advisory firm in Missouri with over 200 employees. For more information, visit www.bswllc.com or call 314.983.1259.

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