Business Valuation for Estate, Inheritance and Divorce in the UAE

By Bill Anderson, FCCA, Chief Executive Officer, Assetica — 2026-05-14

Direct Answer: When a business sits inside an estate, an inheritance or a divorce, its value becomes the most contested number in the matter. An independent valuation prepared to IVS and the RICS Red Book, by a valuer with no interest in the outcome, is what allows a division the parties and the court can accept. Independence is not a presentational detail here. It is the reason the report carries weight.

These engagements differ from a sale in one respect that changes everything. In a sale both sides want the transaction to happen. Here the parties have directly opposing interests, and every assumption in the report will be read by somebody looking for a reason to reject it.

Why these valuations get challenged

A valuation commissioned by one party, or self-assessed by the shareholder who runs the business, starts at a disadvantage it rarely recovers from. The other side does not need to disprove it. They need only show that the person who prepared it had a reason to prefer one answer.

That is why the identity and independence of the valuer is usually established before the methodology is even discussed. A firm that does not audit the business, does not broker its sale and has no ongoing commercial relationship with either party has a clean answer to the first question it will be asked.

Basis of value decides the answer

This is where most disputes actually live, and it is rarely explained to the parties clearly. Market value assumes a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither under compulsion. Fair value between identified parties can exclude the minority discount, which changes the answer for a departing spouse or sibling materially.

The two bases can produce very different figures from the same business and the same accounts, and both can be correct for their own question. A report that does not state which basis it applied on its face cannot be tested against anything. Our guide to valuation standards sets out the distinction.

The valuation date is contested more often than the method

Value is a statement about a moment. In a matrimonial or inheritance matter the choice of date can move the number more than any methodological argument, particularly where the business has grown or deteriorated since the event in question.

The date is usually a legal question rather than a valuation one, which is why it should be settled with counsel before the valuer starts. A report prepared to the wrong date is not wrong analysis. It is an answer to a question nobody asked.

Minority holdings and the discount question

A holding that does not control the company is worth less than a proportionate share of the whole, for two separate reasons. A minority discount reflects the absence of control: no ability to force a dividend, appoint a director or compel a sale. A discount for lack of marketability reflects the absence of a buyer on demand.

In a family matter this is where the argument gets sharp, because the discounts can be substantial and they fall on the party leaving. Whether they apply at all depends on the basis of value the matter requires, which is why the basis has to be fixed first. See our note on valuation discounts and on minority stakes.

What the report has to contain

A stated basis of value and purpose, on the face of the report, not buried in an appendix.
A fixed valuation date, with the reason it was chosen recorded.
Normalised earnings with every adjustment shown. Owner remuneration above or below market, one-off items, related-party dealings. Adjustments asserted rather than evidenced are the first thing challenged.
At least two approaches, reconciled. A single method with no cross-check invites the question of what the others would have said.
The limitations, stated honestly. What was relied on without verification, and what would change the conclusion. Reports claiming no limitations are the least credible.
The standards applied, being the International Valuation Standards and, where relevant, the RICS valuation standards.

An illustrative dispute

Round numbers, illustrative only. A family trading company reports profit before tax of AED 5 million. The shareholder who runs it draws no salary. The shareholder who does not run it argues the accounts therefore overstate earnings, because a market salary for the general manager role would be a real cost to any buyer.

Both are right about something. Normalisation deducts a market salary for the role, which lowers earnings and therefore value. It also shows that the operating shareholder has been contributing work the accounts never recorded. A report that makes that adjustment and explains it in a sentence resolves an argument that can otherwise run for months, because it separates the value of the business from the contribution of the person running it.

Estate and succession planning, before it is contested

The least expensive version of this work is the one done while everyone is still hypothetical about who will be leaving. A valuation prepared for planning purposes, refreshed periodically, gives a family council a number it can compare year on year and a method nobody has an incentive to dispute yet.

The same exercise supports the practical decisions: funding a foundation, dividing holdings between heirs who work in the business and heirs who do not, and drafting the shareholders agreement so it says who values the company and how disagreement is handled. See our guides to succession planning and family office valuation.

Divorce and matrimonial proceedings

Where a business forms part of a matrimonial settlement, the valuation usually has to do two things at once: establish a value, and establish it in a way that the party who does not run the business can verify. Transparency about method matters as much as the conclusion.

What the valuer cannot do is advise on entitlement. How assets are divided, which law applies and what date governs are questions for family law counsel. The valuation supplies one input into that process, and it is most useful when its scope is defined narrowly and stated clearly.

DIFC and the courts

The DIFC operates its own common law framework with English-language courts and a statutory share register, which makes ownership of a DIFC company unambiguous and expert evidence more predictable to present. Where a matter is heard in the DIFC Courts, a report prepared to recognised standards by an independent expert is what the process expects.

Procedure varies by forum and by the nature of the matter, so the requirements for expert evidence should always be confirmed with your legal counsel rather than assumed. Our guide to DIFC court valuation reports covers what those reports contain, and our note on shareholder disputes covers the adjacent commercial case.

Illiquidity: the problem a number does not solve

A valuation can establish that a shareholding is worth a given figure. It cannot make that figure available in cash, and in family matters this is frequently the harder problem.

A departing party awarded a share of a private company may hold something with no buyer, no dividend policy and articles that restrict transfer. The company itself may not have the cash to buy them out without borrowing against its own trading position, which damages the business the remaining family depends on.

Practical settlements usually address this directly rather than pretending the number is liquid. Payment over an agreed period, a charge over assets, a put option exercisable on defined terms, or an agreement to sell the business by a set date are all used. The valuation supports each of those, but the mechanism belongs to counsel, and the parties are better served by confronting the liquidity question early than by litigating the multiple.

Documents that decide more than the accounts

In a contested family matter the governing documents often matter more than the financial statements, and they are the first things a careful valuer asks for.

The shareholders agreement. It may already specify how a departing shareholder's stake is valued, by whom, and on what basis. Where it does, that mechanism usually governs and the valuer's job is to apply it rather than choose one.
The articles of association. Transfer restrictions, pre-emption rights and any compulsory transfer provisions directly affect marketability and therefore value.
The share register. Who actually owns what, which in family companies is not always what everyone believes.
Any prior valuations. Earlier figures will surface, and a report that ignores an inconsistent prior valuation without explaining it invites the obvious challenge.
Loan accounts and informal arrangements. Money moved between the company and family members over years, frequently undocumented, which has to be characterised before the equity can be valued.

Working alongside your counsel

The most efficient engagements are the ones where the lawyer sets the question and the valuer answers it. That means agreeing the basis of value, the valuation date and the precise subject, whether a shareholding, the business as a going concern or a set of assets, before the analysis starts.

It also means the valuer stays inside their scope. An expert who strays into entitlement, or who appears to have worked backwards from a preferred figure, damages the case they were retained to support.

Getting an independent valuation

Assetica prepares independent valuations for estate, inheritance, succession and matrimonial matters to IVS and the RICS Red Book, from Office 304, Icon Tower, Barsha Heights. We do not audit and we do not broker deals, so we have no interest in the outcome and a clean answer to the independence question.

A standard report takes five to seven business days from complete documents, two to three expedited. Use the valuation checklist to see what to gather, read about our business valuation service, or book a scoping call through our contact page. This article is general information and not legal advice; speak to your counsel about your own matter.

A business at the centre of a family matter?

Settle the basis of value and the valuation date with your counsel first. Those two decisions move the number more than the method does.

Book a scoping call

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does a family matter need an independent valuation?

Because the parties have directly opposing interests, a valuation prepared by one of them will be challenged on that basis alone. An independent valuer with no stake in the outcome, no audit relationship and no brokerage interest produces a figure the parties and the court can work from rather than argue about.

What is the difference between market value and fair value here?

Market value assumes a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither under compulsion, and normally reflects minority and marketability discounts where the holding does not control the company. Fair value between identified parties can exclude the minority discount. The same business can carry both figures honestly, which is why the basis must be stated.

Who decides the valuation date?

It is usually a legal question rather than a valuation one, determined by the nature of the matter and the applicable law, so it should be settled with your counsel before the valuer begins. A report prepared to the wrong date is not bad analysis; it answers a question nobody asked.

Do minority discounts apply in an inheritance or divorce?

It depends entirely on the basis of value the matter requires. Where market value applies to a non-controlling holding, discounts for absence of control and absence of a market are normally considered. Where the applicable basis is fair value between identified parties, the minority discount may be excluded. Take the point up with your counsel.

Will a DIFC court accept the report?

The DIFC Courts expect expert evidence prepared to recognised standards by an independent expert who states their assumptions and limitations. Procedure varies by forum and by the nature of the matter, so the specific requirements should always be confirmed with your legal counsel rather than assumed from general guidance.

Can the valuer advise on how the assets should be divided?

No, and a valuer who does damages their own usefulness. Entitlement, division and applicable law are questions for family law or estate counsel. The valuation supplies one input, and it is most useful when its scope is defined narrowly and stated clearly on the face of the report.

Speak to Assetica about Business Valuation

Assetica is an independent business valuation firm in Dubai. We do not audit and we do not broker deals, so the number carries no conflict. Read more about business valuation, or book a scoping call. Standard reports are issued in five to seven business days.