The landscape of family law is shifting, and a notable trend is the rise of "grey divorces", separations involving couples typically aged 50 and over.
While divorce at any stage of life is rarely simple, older Australians often bring with them decades of accumulated wealth, complex business interests, significant superannuation holdings, and inheritance considerations. These factors create unique challenges in property and business valuation and demand a more tailored approach to asset division.
The Growing Significance of Property in Grey Divorce
For many older couples, property forms the cornerstone of their wealth. These can include:
- Primary residences with decades of capital growth
- Holiday homes or investment properties, often negatively geared
- Commercial assets tied to self-managed super funds (SMSFs)
- Farming land or rural holdings passed through generations
- Properties held in discretionary family trusts or company structures
In each case, understanding the true market value, and the underlying ownership structure, is vital to enable a fair and informed property settlement.
Challenges Unique to Older Couples
What makes grey divorce different from earlier-life separations is the interconnectedness of property with long-term financial planning, retirement, and estate management. Common challenges include:
- Complex ownership structures: Many older couples hold properties through family trusts or companies, often with tax-driven or asset-protection motivations that now complicate the division.
- Non-standard property types: Rural, development-zoned, or mixed-use properties require specialist valuation knowledge.
- Emotional and legacy attachments: Long-held family homes or inherited land may carry non-financial value, making objective valuation critical to negotiation.
- Deferred tax implications: Especially relevant where investment properties are involved, capital gains tax liabilities can influence decisions around who retains an asset.
Superannuation, Property and the $3 Million Threshold
With the impending 2025 changes to superannuation taxation, imposing a 15% additional tax on earnings from balances over $3 million, there’s renewed scrutiny over property held within SMSFs. Many grey divorcees:
- Own commercial real estate within their SMSFs, including business premises or leased properties.
- Need to determine the net market value of these assets for both family law and superannuation reporting purposes.
- Require concurrent property and super valuations to ensure settlements don’t unintentionally breach contribution or taxation limits.
In these cases, working with valuers who understand both family law reporting requirements and SMSF regulatory standards is essential.
Business Interests; The Valuation Challenge
Older couples often have co-owned businesses, family investment companies, or passive income-generating properties. These entities may be:
- Difficult to value due to fluctuating market conditions, non-arms-length leases, or intangible goodwill
- Structurally complicated, with overlapping personal and business finances
- Tied to legacy planning or children’s involvement, which raises emotional as well as financial stakes
Professional business valuation becomes essential to prevent undervaluation, tax surprises, or inequitable settlements. Independent valuations help establish a defendable basis for negotiations or court submissions, particularly when assets are held across different structures or jurisdictions.
Estate Planning and Property Division
Another factor influencing property valuation in grey divorces is the interplay with estate planning. Divorce often triggers a full review of:
- Wills and powers of attorney
- Testamentary trusts and life interests
- Future intentions for passing on real estate to adult children
Where a property was intended to remain in the family or serve as an intergenerational asset, careful valuation and structuring become tools to preserve wealth and avoid unintended outcomes.
The Valuer’s Evolving Role in Grey Divorce
For property professionals, grey divorce matters demand more than a desktop appraisal or market estimate. It calls for:
- Providing Family Court standard valuations - independent, defensible valuations
- Explaining value drivers and risks in plain terms - including zoning, improvements, income potential, and depreciation
- Consideration of broader context - such as ownership structures, encumbrances, and tenancy arrangements
- Sensitivity to legacy and lifestyle factors, which may influence decision-making beyond pure numbers
Moreover, as digital platforms and hybrid family structures increase, valuers are being asked to consider assets held interstate or overseas and provide multi-valuation reports where different standards apply (e.g. market value vs replacement value).
Expertise That Protects Value and Clarity
Grey divorces are not just legal or emotional journeys, they are increasingly technical property matters. For family lawyers and financial advisers, partnering with experienced, accredited valuers who understand the nuances of later-life separation can protect not only asset values but future legacy and tax outcomes.
At a time when every decision can impact retirement, inheritance, or family stability, quality valuation advice isn't just helpful, it's foundational.