No quoted price, so methodology decides
A private company has no market ticker; its value in a divorce is constructed by expert opinion. Trading companies are commonly valued on maintainable earnings multiplied by an appropriate multiple; property and investment companies on net assets; professional practices by reference to earnings and what the market for such practices supports. Each step involves judgment — what earnings are truly maintainable, what multiple comparable transactions justify, what adjustments the accounts need — and reasonable experts land in genuinely different places.
The contested levers
Most valuation fights concentrate on a familiar set of levers. Normalisation adjustments: is the owner’s salary above or below market, and are personal costs running through the company? Maintainable earnings: is the recent pipeline a trend or a spike? The multiple: which comparators, and what discount for size and dependence on the owner? Minority and marketability discounts where less than control is held. And surplus assets — cash and property beyond trading needs — which may be valued separately.
Because each lever moves value materially, the underlying records matter as much as the theory: management accounts, contracts, pipeline and director loan accounts are all examined, and gaps in disclosure translate directly into adverse assumptions.
How disputes resolve in practice
Each side typically instructs its own valuer, reports are exchanged, and experts frequently meet to narrow differences before any hearing. Many cases settle within the band the experts define. The strategic lesson for business owners is consistent: early, complete financial disclosure with credible records shapes the band; obstruction widens it in the wrong direction.
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Richard advises on divorce, judicial separation and complex asset family law at Mary Molloy Solicitors, a Dublin firm established in 1981. His mediation qualification supports negotiated and mediated settlement of financial matters, and his TEP qualification is directly relevant where trusts, inherited assets and succession issues arise in the division of family wealth. LinkedIn
Legal information, not legal advice. This page provides general information on Irish family law. It is not legal advice, and it does not create a solicitor–client relationship. Outcomes in family law depend on the specific circumstances of each case and the discretion of the court. You should obtain advice from a solicitor on your own situation before acting.
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