MacLean Law’s Family Joint Financial Expert Lawyers assist clients and the court by the hiring of a single Family Joint Financial expert. In family law cases joint experts often value real estate and companies but a joint financial expert can also value, cars, jewellery and other family property. Maclean Law is a multiple winner of Vancouver’s Top* family Law Firm.
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Often Family Joint Financial Expert Lawyers can agree to appoint a joint financial expert but common disputes relate to:
A) the cost and who pays up front;
B) who the expert should be, based on skill and expertise and comparative costs; and
C) how fast each expert can complete their reports
Family Joint Financial Expert Lawyers
Family Joint Financial Expert Lawyers just reviewed the recent case of Cornett v. Woike 2016 BCSC 2365 where the principles to be applied in a disputed joint financial expert case were nicely summarized:
The Law
14 Rule 13-3(2) of the Supreme Court Family Rules provides that any party who wishes to present to the Court expert opinion evidence on a financial issue (defined in Rule 13-3(1) as an issue arising out of a claim under Part 5 or Part 6 of the Family Law Act, SBC 2011, c 25), that evidence must be presented to the Court by means of a jointly appointed expert unless the Court otherwise orders or the parties otherwise agree and Rule 13-4 applies.
15 Rule 13-4(3) states that if the parties do not agree that a joint expert is required or do not agree on any matter relating to the appointment of the joint expert, any party may apply to the Court in accordance with Rule 10-5 for an order (a) appointing a joint expert, and (b) settling any matter relating to the appointment of the joint expert.
16 In the case of Aquilini v. Aquilini, 2012 BCSC 1616, Mr. Justice Smith dealing with an application for the appointing of a business valuator (similar to the case at bar) identified the following relevant factors for a court to consider when determining whether to exercise its discretion under Rule 13-4(3) to appoint a joint expert in absence of an agreement at para. 43:
(1) Is the financial issue one on which the court is likely to require expert evidence?
(2) If so, is there evidence of a properly qualified expert who is available and who the parties, or either of them, can afford to retain?
(3) Is the appointment of the joint expert consistent with the purpose and intent of the Family Rules?
The judge ruled the expert whom the parties had originally agreed would prepare the report. Our Family Joint Financial Expert Lawyers note that the expert’s estimated time frame and fee estimate might have been overly cautious and the Judge felt the report might be completed more quickly and at less cost than the estimate.
Call one of our top rated* Vancouver or Calgary Family Joint Financial Expert Lawyers today if you have a family property valuation, taxation and division issue that you need help resolving.
