Studio and equipment valuation for divorce settlement?

[Renaissance Man]

My wife of 29 years recently left me. A real kick in the gut.
I'm going to try to hold on to the studio if I can, as it's my primary source of income (if you want to call it income...).
We need to have the recording studio and equipment valued for the settlement. Appraisers in my area flat out won't touch it. Any suggestions?

[HCMarkus]

I'm very sorry for this difficult development in your personal life.

You may be able to document from EBay and Craigslist sales. Make sure to use SALES, not ASKING PRICES as a guide. Pawn shops coud be your best source of info. There once was a "Blue Book" for audio gear.

This is one time when the fact that equipment is a depreciating asset will be a good thing for you. *Vintage gear caveat*

[Dan Worley]

Very sorry to hear the trouble you're going through. It's tough, I know.

Maybe use the value of the studio and gear listed on your insurance.

[buzzsmith]

Sorry!

Not the same situation, but whenever I sell something, I generally go to eBay and see what the items sold for (Completed Auction option). That gets me a range, at least.

Best...

Buzzy

[mikehalloran]

Maybe use the value of the studio and gear listed on your insurance.

Not for this purpose. It will be too high.

There are a few ways to go. The first, as suggested a couple times already, is to use eBay to get an idea. Look at completed/sold listings if your gear is popular enough to show up.

The second is value after depreciation. If you have been using something like TurboTax - any version that lets you do a Schedule C - and your records are good enough, you should be able to print a list from your Asset Entry Worksheets. Your tax accountant should have that also. For some of us, that's a pretty big if on the records department. If you haven't been keeping up on this, however, that's a lot of work to do from scratch. You will have to factor a residual value as if you sold it - few things are worth absolutely nothing (I feel an Edwin Starr moment coming on).

The third way is to pay for a valuation. Ideally to a dealer of studio gear. That person will do a short version of the first two methods. You'll need a complete list including date purchased (if known) or the best you can recall, price paid new, any accessories and condition.

Sorry to hear about your situation.

[bayswater]

+1 on not using insurance. That could be close to replacement cost, not the current value. If you have been using capital depreciation on the equipment as a write down on tax, it may be best to keep the values consistent with that, as Mike suggests, rather than using eBay.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Sorry for your problem. I'm not a layer, but know enough to know that a judge or referee will want some form of documentation on the declared values. THIS LINK might be helpful for some items.

[TnMike]

Sorry to hear about that and I feel your pain. I would think tools you use for your main income would be exempt from settlement? I hope everything works out for you.


G5 2.7 GHZ, DP 7.24, MOTU 2408, Ivory, SD2, B4ll, UAD-1, Melodyne, Ramza DA-7,

[twistedtom]

Bummer

[donreynolds]

The guys at sweetwater will do it as a service if you provide them the list and pictures.