Estate disputes: enter the forensic accountant

• Valuations of business interests and quantification of claims.
• The role of the forensic accountant.

Disputes after the death of a family member are increasingly common. Such disputes often involve the valuation of assets, competing claims and conflicts between beneficiaries. Many disputes create a need for forensic accountants to assist lawyers in the administration of estates. Expert accountants can assist lawyers with the following aspects:

• pinpointing specific information required from the parties;
• assessing the quality of the documents;
• data collection and analysis; and
• providing expert advice or reports intended for disclosure.

This article highlights that the work undertaken by forensic accountants can be wide-ranging and may include the valuation of the deceased’s interest in a business, as well as other valuation issues in relation to estates and the quantification of claims or aspects of claims if beneficiaries allege negligence or fraud against executors or initiate proceedings against each other.

Valuation of the deceased’s