Divorce Appraisals in Miami-Dade and Broward County — Home Value Inc.

What Is a Divorce Appraisal?

A divorce appraisal is a certified, USPAP-compliant written report that establishes the fair market value of marital property as of a court-specified effective date — typically the date of filing, the date of separation, or the date of trial, depending on the presiding judge’s order. 

Jhovan F. Rojas, FL License RD6109, inspects the property in person, analyzes verified comparable sales from the Miami-Dade or Broward County MLS and public records, and produces a signed report that identifies the effective date, documents every valuation adjustment, and states the final market value opinion in a format Florida circuit courts accept as independent evidence.

Florida courts do not accept a broker price opinion, a Zillow estimate, or an informal agent’s comparative market analysis as independent evidence of market value in equitable distribution proceedings. 

Under Florida Statute § 61.075, the court distributes marital assets based on fair market value, and only a certified appraisal from a Florida-licensed appraiser produces a value opinion that satisfies that standard without opposition from the other party’s counsel.

How Florida Courts Use Divorce Appraisals for Equitable Distribution

Florida operates under equitable distribution — not community property. Under Florida Statute § 61.075, the circuit court distributes marital assets and liabilities equitably between the parties, which in practice means the court must establish a dollar value for every marital asset before dividing it. 

Real property — the marital home, investment properties, and jointly owned commercial real estate — requires a certified appraisal to establish that value.

The appraisal effective date is the single most contested element in divorce property valuation. 

Florida case law and Florida Statute § 61.075(7) give the court discretion to select the valuation date, and the date selected can materially affect the distribution outcome in a market where values shifted significantly between filing and trial. 

Jhovan F. Rojas produces appraisals for any court-ordered effective date, applies the correct comparable sales set for that date, and documents the time-adjustment methodology so opposing counsel cannot successfully challenge the date selection on appeal.

Who Orders a Divorce Appraisal and When

Petitioning and responding spouses retain Home Value Inc. when their attorney identifies real property as a contested marital asset requiring independent valuation. 

Either party may commission a divorce appraisal — and in high-conflict cases, both parties commission separate appraisals, with the court weighing the two reports and any testimony from the appraisers at the evidentiary hearing. 

Home Value Inc. appraisals are structured to withstand cross-examination under Florida Evidence Code § 90.702, which governs the admissibility of expert opinion testimony in Florida circuit courts.

Family law attorneys in Miami-Dade and Broward County engage Home Value Inc. directly on behalf of their clients when the marital estate includes real property that requires a court-ready valuation on a specific effective date. 

Attorneys who need a report formatted to survive a Daubert challenge — the federal admissibility standard Florida adopted for expert testimony — receive from Rojas a report that documents methodology, data sources, and adjustment reasoning in sufficient detail to satisfy that standard. 

For background on how appraisals function in Miami-Dade divorce proceedings, see the firm’s article on divorce appraisals in Miami-Dade.

Mediation participants use Home Value Inc. divorce appraisals to establish an agreed value for the marital home before mediation, so the parties negotiate from an independent baseline rather than competing informal estimates. 

A certified appraisal narrows the valuation dispute before it reaches a judge — reducing mediation time, attorney fees, and the risk of a contested evidentiary hearing.

What Divorce Appraisals Cover in Miami-Dade and Broward County

Home Value Inc. completes divorce appraisals for every real property category that appears in Miami-Dade and Broward County marital estates.

For properties involving both residential and income-producing characteristics — a duplex where one unit is owner-occupied, for example — Rojas applies the methodology that produces the most defensible value conclusion for the specific intended use and court-ordered effective date.

Appraiser Independence and Confidentiality in Divorce Assignments

Appraiser independence is not optional in divorce appraisal assignments — it is a USPAP requirement and a Florida court admissibility condition. 

Jhovan F. Rojas operates under the USPAP Ethics Rule prohibiting any appraiser from accepting an assignment in which the fee is contingent on the value conclusion—a prohibition that applies directly to divorce appraisals, where one party wants the highest possible value, and the other wants the lowest. 

Home Value Inc. charges a flat fee confirmed before the inspection begins. The value conclusion is determined by market data, not by which party ordered the report.

Every Home Value Inc. divorce appraisal engagement is handled with complete confidentiality. 

Assignment results, property details, and client identity are not disclosed to any third party without the client’s written authorization — a USPAP confidentiality requirement that applies regardless of whether the other party, their attorney, or the court requests the information outside of proper legal channels.

The Divorce Appraisal Process at Home Value Inc.

Stage 1 — Confidential consultation and effective date confirmation. 

Rojas or a licensed team member confirms the property address, the court-ordered or attorney-specified effective date, the intended use, the intended user, and any specific formatting requirements the retaining attorney has identified before scheduling the inspection. Getting the effective date right at the outset eliminates the most common revision request in divorce appraisal assignments.

Stage 2 — On-site inspection with condition documentation specific to the effective date. 

The appraiser inspects the property’s current physical condition and, where the effective date is retrospective, documents any condition changes since that date — improvements made by one spouse post-separation, deferred maintenance that occurred after filing, or damage that affects value relative to the effective date. Condition as of the effective date, not the inspection date, governs the value conclusion. 

Parties preparing the property for inspection can refer to the firm’s pre-appraisal checklist to understand what the appraiser documents during the inspection.

Stage 3 — Comparable selection calibrated to the effective date. 

The appraiser selects closed sales from the period surrounding the effective date — not the current date — and applies time adjustments for any market movement between the comparable sales dates and the effective date. 

In Miami-Dade and Broward County, where values shifted materially between 2020 and 2024, time-adjustment precision is the technical element most likely to be challenged by opposing counsel at the evidentiary hearing. 

Rojas documents the derivation of the time adjustment explicitly, so the methodology is fully auditable.

Stage 4 — Court-formatted report delivery. 

The signed, USPAP-compliant report identifies the effective date, names the intended user, states the intended use as equitable distribution, and documents every adjustment with market-supported reasoning traceable to a specific data source. 

Most residential divorce appraisal reports are delivered within three to five business days of the on-site inspection. Rush delivery is available for hearings with imminent court dates.

Divorce Appraisal Fees in Miami-Dade and Broward County

Divorce appraisal fees run slightly higher than standard residential appraisals because the effective date precision, time-adjustment documentation, and court-formatting requirements add complexity that a standard purchase appraisal does not require. Home Value Inc. confirms the full fee at the time of engagement — before the inspection is scheduled.

Get a court-ready divorce appraisal on your timeline. Call Home Value Inc. at (786) 357-6511 to confirm the effective date, property type, and fee before your next attorney conference or mediation session.

Service Area — Divorce Appraisals

Home Value Inc. completes divorce appraisals for marital real estate across all of Greater Miami-Dade County, including Aventura, Bal Harbor, Bay Harbor Islands, and Biscayne Park, as well as Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Hialeah, Doral, Kendall, Homestead, North Miami, Sunny Isles Beach, and all other incorporated municipalities in Miami-Dade County. 

The firm also completes divorce appraisals throughout Broward County. For attorneys handling cases with properties in multiple South Florida counties, Home Value Inc. accepts multi-property divorce appraisal engagements. 

See the firm’s dedicated article on court-approved divorce appraisers in Miami-Dade for additional context on how the courts evaluate appraiser qualifications in equitable distribution proceedings.

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is a divorce appraisal, and why does a Florida court require one? 

A divorce appraisal is a certified, USPAP-compliant written report establishing the fair market value of marital real property as of a court-specified effective date. Florida Statute § 61.075 requires the circuit court to distribute marital assets based on fair market value. Only a certified appraisal from a Florida-licensed appraiser produces a value opinion that satisfies that evidentiary standard — a broker price opinion or online estimate does not.

What effective date does a Florida divorce appraisal use? 

The effective date is set by the court or agreed between the parties’ attorneys — it is typically the date of filing, the date of separation, or the date of trial. Each date produces a different value in a market that moved significantly between 2020 and 2024. Jhovan F. Rojas produces appraisals for any court-ordered effective date and documents the time-adjustment methodology so the date selection cannot be challenged on appeal.

Can both spouses use the same appraiser in a Florida divorce? 

Yes, if both parties agree and the appraiser is jointly retained. A jointly retained appraiser produces a single report used by both parties, reducing costs and eliminating competing valuations. If the parties cannot agree on an appraiser, each retains a separate appraiser, and the court weighs both reports at the evidentiary hearing. 

Does a divorce appraisal hold up against cross-examination in a Miami-Dade circuit court? 

Yes, provided the report documents the methodology, data sources, and the reasoning for adjustments in sufficient detail to satisfy Florida Evidence Code § 90.702, which governs expert opinion admissibility in Florida circuit courts. Jhovan F. Rojas structures every divorce appraisal report to withstand opposing counsel’s cross-examination on comparable selection, time adjustments, and condition analysis.

How long does a divorce appraisal take in Miami-Dade? 

Most residential divorce appraisal reports are delivered within three to five business days of the on-site inspection. Retrospective appraisals — where the effective date is significantly in the past — may require additional research time. Rush delivery within one to two business days is available for hearings with imminent court dates at an additional fee.

What is the difference between a divorce appraisal and a standard residential appraisal? 

A divorce appraisal requires a court-specified effective date that may differ from the inspection date, time-adjustment documentation calibrated to that date, appraiser independence from both parties, and a report formatted to satisfy Florida circuit court evidentiary standards. A standard purchase or refinance appraisal uses the current date as the effective date and is formatted for lender submission — not court submission. 

Does Home Value Inc. complete divorce appraisals for investment and rental properties? 

Yes. Home Value Inc. completes divorce appraisals for investment properties, rental properties, and small commercial assets in Miami-Dade and Broward County. Income-producing properties require the income approach in addition to the sales comparison approach — the methodology produces a value conclusion based on actual rental income potential rather than comparable sales alone. 

How does Home Value Inc. handle confidentiality in divorce appraisal assignments? 

Every Home Value Inc. divorce appraisal engagement is handled under full USPAP confidentiality requirements. Assignment results, property details, and client identity are not disclosed to any third party — including the other spouse or their attorney — without the client’s written authorization. Confidentiality obligations apply regardless of whether the other party requests the information outside of proper legal channels.