A defensible value for the marital home, from a certified appraiser neither side can lean on. Either spouse can order it, or both of you together.
In most Texas divorces the home is the largest single asset in the marital estate, and it cannot be cut in half. One spouse keeps it and buys the other out, or it sells and the proceeds are divided, or it gets traded against retirement accounts and cash. Every one of those paths starts with a credible opinion of what the property is worth.
The appraisal district value is not that opinion. Neither is an online estimate or an agent's opinion of what the house might list for. Those are built for other purposes, and a competent opposing attorney knows how to dismantle them on cross-examination. A written appraisal by a Texas Certified Residential appraiser, prepared in compliance with USPAP, is built to be examined: the comparable sales are named, each adjustment is explained, and the reasoning sits on the page where anyone can test it.
Texas Family Code §7.001 directs the court, in a decree of divorce or annulment, to order a division of the estate of the parties in a manner that the court deems just and right, having due regard for the rights of each party and any children of the marriage. Just and right is not a synonym for fifty-fifty. It is a discretionary standard, exercised by a judge working from the evidence in front of them, which is exactly why the quality of the valuation evidence matters.
Characterization matters too. Property owned before the marriage, or acquired during it by gift or inheritance, is generally separate property; much of the rest is community. Where the two estates have touched, Texas Family Code §3.402 allows a claim for reimbursement — including where one estate paid to make improvements on the other estate's real property and those improvements resulted in an enhancement in the value. Enhancement in value is an appraisal question, and it is not the same number as what the improvements cost. I can be engaged to measure it, but that is a distinct assignment with its own effective dates and scope, so say so at the outset.
I quote the fee in writing before I start work. It is never tied to the value I conclude, to who keeps the house, or to how the case turns out.
USPAP's ETHICS RULE requires an appraiser to perform assignments with impartiality, objectivity, and independence, and without accommodation of personal interests, and it states that an appraiser must not advocate the cause or interest of any party. That rule holds no matter which spouse signs the engagement letter or writes the check.
That is the point, not a caveat. An appraisal that leans toward whoever paid for it is the first thing opposing counsel goes after, and once the leaning is established the number is worth nothing to anybody. Because I cannot be moved, the report survives the other side's attorney — which is exactly why it is useful to you at mediation, in a buyout negotiation, or in front of a judge.
An appraisal is an opinion of value as of a specific date, and Texas does not fix one statutory valuation date for divorce property division. In practice the date comes from agreement between the parties, from the court, or from what the lawyers are trying to prove. If your attorney has given you a date, send it with the address and I will work to it. If nobody has raised it yet, ask — it takes one question and it is the difference between a report your case can use and one it cannot.
Retrospective work is ordinary appraisal practice, not a workaround. I develop the opinion from the data a buyer and a seller would have had at that earlier date, and the report states the effective date and the date of the report separately so no one confuses the two.
USPAP requires me to work with impartiality, objectivity, and independence, and not to advocate the cause or interest of any party. That applies regardless of who hires me.
Any of these works, and none of them changes the analysis. If the two of you can agree to split one appraisal, that is usually the cheaper and calmer route — one inspection, one fee, one report, and no second number to fight about at mediation.
Whoever engages me becomes my client, and USPAP's confidentiality obligations attach to that relationship: I do not discuss the assignment or the results with the other spouse unless my client authorizes it or a court orders it. Settle that at the outset so nobody is caught off guard.
Divorce cases in Tarrant County are heard in the family district courts — the 231st, 233rd, 322nd, 324th, 325th, and 360th — along with the associate, IV-D child support, and child protection courts that support them. Most of that work happens at the Family Law Center at 200 East Weatherford Street in downtown Fort Worth.
If the court orders it, or if local practice or the other party calls for it, each spouse may have to file a sworn Inventory and Appraisement listing property and debts, characterizing each item as community or separate, and assigning values. It is signed under penalty of perjury, and it tends to follow you into trial. That is the document a real appraisal is there to support.
I appraise across Tarrant County: Fort Worth, Arlington, Keller, Southlake, Colleyville, Grapevine, Mansfield, the Mid-Cities, Benbrook, Burleson, and the unincorporated areas between them. Tarrant, Parker, Johnson and Hood counties.
Texas fixes no single statutory valuation date for divorce. Get the effective date from your attorney before ordering the appraisal.
USPAP Standards Rule 2-2 provides two written report options: an Appraisal Report and a Restricted Appraisal Report. For divorce work I almost always write an Appraisal Report. A Restricted Appraisal Report is limited to a single client with no other intended users, and it may not contain enough explanation for anyone else to follow the analysis or the rationale — a poor fit when an opposing attorney, a mediator, or a judge is going to read it.
My credential is Texas Certified Residential, and I keep the practice inside it: one-to-four unit residential property, and land whose highest and best use is one-to-four family residential — at any value and any complexity. I do not appraise commercial buildings, apartment properties of five units or more, or subdivision development. If the marital estate includes any of those, it needs a Certified General appraiser, and I will tell you that rather than stretch past my scope.
I also do not value businesses, professional practices, or retirement accounts. If the residence sits inside an LLC and the real question is the value of the entity interest, I appraise the underlying real property and a business valuation analyst takes it from there.
Fees are fixed per assignment and quoted in advance, based on the property, the number of effective dates, and whether testimony may be required. Divorce assignments start at $500 for a standard single-family home valued as of a current date, $600 where the effective date is retrospective, and $850 for a complex or luxury property.
Turnaround generally runs 5 to 7 business days from inspection for a single current effective date; retrospective and multi-date assignments take longer. To schedule I need the address, the effective date your attorney wants, the client's name, and interior access. If the two of you are not speaking, say so and I will coordinate through counsel.
Appraisal client
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It is a set dollar amount quoted before I begin, not a percentage of anything. Divorce assignments start at $500 for a standard single-family home valued as of a current date, $600 where the effective date is retrospective, and $850 for a complex or luxury property. The quote depends on the size and complexity of the property, how many effective dates are involved, and whether testimony is contemplated. Nothing about the fee changes based on the value I conclude.
Yes, and it is often the better choice. One inspection, one fee split between you, and one report means there is no second number to fight about at mediation. My analysis is the same whether one side or both sides engage me, because USPAP does not permit me to lean toward whoever is paying.
That decision belongs to the court, and no appraiser can promise you an outcome. What I control is the work: a defined scope, an inspection, identified comparable sales, explained adjustments, and a report written in compliance with USPAP so that the reasoning can be followed and tested. Admissibility and weight are for the judge.
Whatever date your attorney specifies, because Texas does not set one by statute for divorce property division. Common choices are a current date for a buyout, or a retrospective date such as the date of marriage or a date near trial when characterization or a reimbursement claim depends on it. Confirm it before you order.
For a credible opinion, yes — interior condition, layout, updates, and deferred maintenance all affect value, and I cannot responsibly assume them. If access is genuinely impossible, an appraisal can sometimes be developed using a hypothetical condition or extraordinary assumption about the interior, but that limitation must be disclosed in the report and it weakens the result.
Yes. That is a retrospective appraisal, and it is standard practice. I develop the opinion from market data available as of that earlier date and state clearly in the report that the effective date precedes the report date. How far back is workable depends on the data available for that neighborhood and period.
Usually not, if the number is going to be contested. Appraisal district values are produced by mass appraisal for taxation, and a comparative market analysis is a listing tool, not a valuation prepared under professional standards. Neither one carries an appraiser's certification or an explained adjustment grid, which is precisely what opposing counsel will ask for.
Yes, when I have been retained for it and the schedule allows. Testimony is billed hourly at a rate quoted in advance, separate from the appraisal fee, and it is never contingent on the outcome. Tell me early if testimony is a possibility so the report scope and my calendar account for it.
Written fee quote, typically within one business hour. Call or text if that is easier than email — a lot of my clients would rather not have this conversation out loud at work.
Would rather not type it out? Call or text (817) 903-4509.