It is common for parties in a marital dispute to find themselves in disagreement about furniture, who will retain what furniture and what its value is.

The Court’s approach to the value of furniture is often misunderstood.  There are four different valuations of furniture, all giving a different overall figure.

Firstly, there is the “insurance value”. Parties may have their furniture over or under insured.  For most households this figure could be anywhere between $10,000.00 to $60,000.00 depending on the amount of furniture and the quality of the furniture.

The second valuation method is the “replacement value”.  This is what it would cost you to replace your furniture.  This figure would change from month to month and year to year.

The third valuation method is the “purchase price value”.  This is the amount that the item cost the parties to purchase in the first place.

Lastly there is “market value”.  This is the value that the Court relies on.  This amount is the second hand value of your furniture.

Let’s use an office chair as an example to show the variance in these valuation methods. For example the office chair’s value is as follows:

    Insurance value        $70.00
    Replacement value        $65.00
    Purchase price value    $50.00
    Market value            $25.00.

Parties need to keep in mind that second hand furniture does not tend to retain its value and in fact depreciates.  This needs to be taken into consideration when parties are in dispute about furniture.  Often a Court battle in relation to furniture will exceed the amount of the value of the furniture.  It is important for parties to attempt to reach an agreement in relation to the division of furniture in order to keep their costs to a minimum.

If you require any other advice on any number of aspects concerning property settlement call one of our experience family team members for further assistance on 3345 4388.