Valuing horses for divorce purposes - how would I do it...??

catembi

catembi

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As per title. My divorce is getting a bit messy & ex-o/h wants to put a value on everything.

The horses aren't valuable.

Trev - 7 year old ex-racer, won £18k racing, v laid back, just started aff sj, about to start aff dr, no particular issues.

Adrian - 8 or 9 year old ISH, has EPSM, is currently on loan to a trekking centre as he is only capable of plodding about. Very laid back, nice person, useless for anything apart from steady hacking.

Any ideas? O/h has valued them both at £2.5k...I'm thinking that this is maybe on the high side, but not perhaps high enough to squabble over? Who formally values horses? Might be tricky as Adrian now lives a good 200 miles away.

T x
 
I would value Trev at £1000 and Adrian at no more than meat value, so around £500. I would tell him that you base that on current horse prices - this doesn't reflect what I think about them BTW!
 
I'd say be very careful - presumably your ex-OH knows you use this site...if you get people saying higher values he could very well use that against you. Your best bet is to get a FBHS to formally value them (needs to be someone who could be an expert witness really hence the qualification), then submit that in writing. I wouldn't use a forum like this - hard to accurately value animals we've never seen and it could be less useful than you hope!
 
I think that if your TB is good enough to start affiliated SJ and Dressage he will be worth more that £2500. I would have thought he was worth in the region of £5000 if he has those capabilities. The other hacking horse, is probably worth £1000 because of his health issues. Any qualified instructor ought to be able to give you a written valuation that should stand up in court/litigation situations.
 
I believe (but don't know for sure, so take this with pinch of salt) that the value ought to be an auction value, i.e. the price likely to be obtained at auction. So, perhaps you could get an auctioneer (the one at Lordsbridge - Dyers? - if it's still going?) to give you a value?

Sorry you're having to go through this - sounds horrid.
 
Vet could probably Although, I'd be tempted to ask for maintenance for them instead as dependants. Mine certainly aren't assets, more like hay-chomping, money-draining, eating machines. :D
Seriously though, hope you get everything sorted soon. Its not much fun.
 
agree that A only worth meat money.

as far as trev goes, he may be doing affil but he's a TB thus not a fashionable dr/sj breed, and he's behind for his age compared to warmbloods, so think £5k is far too high.

i also add that that doesnt reflect that i adore trev, you know that, but for this post, must be realistic.

for comparison, id value CS at £7/8k, but if he were a 6yo warmblood winning at medium i think he'd be more like £15-£20k!!!!!
 
Ring up dealers to get a current value. Some will put it in writing over email for you. I agree about not putting any values into this post and would advise you get it pulled as HHO is not the most reliable place for valuations.
 
If you are involved in court proceedings you have to try and agree a value, if you cant the court will order you to jointly instruct a valuer.
You should discuss it with your solicitor.
PM me if you want more details.
 
A def no more than meat value, he is a liability not an asset.
T, well what do racehorses get rehomed for, you can often get one free. His race winnings are irrelevant. Do you still have J, she is def a liability rather than an asset at her age.
 
At the end of the day regardless of what they may actually be worth for divorce purposes you want them valued at as little as possible preferable 0. They are not a big asset so if you can quibble that they are worth nothing (A sick, actually costs more to keep then he is worth, T ex-racer nobody would want him) then hopefully they will be disregarded. If anything you need to argue how they cost you money and therefore are not an asset but a liability that you have to pay for ;)
You need an independent valuation really, a dealer or somebody who will value them at as little as possible.
 
Agree that they aren't worth a huge amount in this situation, but do be careful. It could end up costing you more in legal fees to argue that they aren't worth very much than the value put on them in the first place.
 
Thankies, everyone.

I appreciate the advice re getting the thread pulled, but tbh I'm not bothered about him seeing it. The consensus seems to be that the horses are worth less than he's said rather than more, & if he were to see this & start arguing, I would then do as suggested & get a BHS chief examiner who lives nearby to value.

Atm it's not going thru the courts - we are trying to come to an amicable arrangement. There is a clean break form which I'd like to file in time for the decree absolute & it would be ideal if we could agree before then. If not, we shall continue to argue about it after the absolute. It's my Vegas wedding 4 weeks today, so I will not hold up the absolute.

[Yes Thistle, I still have Jenny. She is now 38. She belongs to my mum & aunt who inherited her in my grandfather's will when he died in 1995, so she & her things are irrelevant really. I realise that she's a liability cos she eats as much as Trev & is on pergolide, but she is a fab field & travel companion! Too old for kicking matches or jumping out.]
 
PS love the idea of getting a maintenance order for them! They both have huuuuuuge appetites & seem to have an uncanny knack for making money vanish into thin air...
 
Right I went through this when I got divorced my ex husband thought he would get half the horse (some one must have prompted him-far too thick to think it on his own!!)
Firstly- Did you have/buy the horses before you met/maried him, if so like I did he cant touch what you gained before the marriage?relationship (that what my solicitor said)
Secondly- You have to have 3 valuations for people who stand in high reguard in the equestrian world, ie experienced professional, a dealer with good reputation etc etc. They may charge you for this, you need it all in writing.Then it will be decided what they are worth and whether you will have to pay him out- I really doubt it will come to this.
Good Luck- know what youre going through
 
Oh thanks for that, SD. Really useful.

Been married 15 years (he ran off with someone 10 years younger than me after doing the dirty behind my back for 6 months...) & I've had T about a year & A since April 2007. Jen has been in the family since my grandfather bought her in 1976 but I don't own her. My mum & aunt party finance her but I pick up the slack or they make noises about PTS every few years if she's having an expensive phase.

We shall see what happens. I would like it all finalised in 3 weeks' time, but if he is going to d**k about, it might have to carry on when I get back from Vegas.
 
Steeleydan said:
Right I went through this when I got divorced my ex husband thought he would get half the horse (some one must have prompted him-far too thick to think it on his own!!)
Firstly- Did you have/buy the horses before you met/maried him, if so like I did he cant touch what you gained before the marriage?relationship (that what my solicitor said)
Secondly- You have to have 3 valuations for people who stand in high reguard in the equestrian world, ie experienced professional, a dealer with good reputation etc etc. They may charge you for this, you need it all in writing.Then it will be decided what they are worth and whether you will have to pay him out- I really doubt it will come to this.
Good Luck- know what youre going through
Click to expand...

The longer the marriage the less relevent it is who owned what before so unless you had a very short marriage that is not true.

If you cannot agree a value between you then the court will appoint someone to value the horse/s You would split their fees between you
 
Obviously, for your settlement, the lower you can have your horses valued the better. However there are other factors to balance out and to make the process as smooth as possible and to give the appearance you are being co-operative etc I would probably do the following:

1) accept the figure given on T without quibble (I actually don't think it is an unfair figure at all)

2) get an independant and professional figure put on A. In reality he is going to be valued at the equivalent meat price and it will be easy and transparent to get this in writing, you don't need to fabricate anything on that.
 
I would really suggest the auction house - they will value on auction price, which will be lower than a private sale (or generally anyway!)
 
you may find that the horses are not valued as assets at all - yrs sound like pets [ albeit pets with some abilities] - when i was made bankrupt the oficial receiver was very clear that pets are classed as liabilities rather than assets - so you may choose to list their expenses as outgoings
good luck with it all:)
 
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