---
title: "Estate and Probate Business Valuations in Sydney"
url: https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/services/estate-and-probate-valuation/
description: "Independent valuations of a business or private company shares in a deceased estate in Sydney, as at the date of death, for executors and their advisers."
updated: 2026-11-15
---

# Valuing a business or company shares in a deceased estate in Sydney.

## Your fixed fee

- Your fee is put in writing first and does not move with the value.
- A second valuer checks each report before signing.
- The working file stays on record for ten years.
- The report carries the name of the valuer who [signs it](https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/about/).

When someone who owned a business dies, the executor needs a figure for it: for the probate papers, for tax and to divide the estate fairly. We value the business, or the shares in it, as at the date of death.

Fee guide

Under $2 million of turnover: $1,495 + GST, signed report in 2 business days. $2 million to $3 million of turnover: $2,495 + GST, signed report in 3 business days. $3 million to $10 million of turnover: $3,495 + GST, signed report in 3 business days. Above $10 million we quote the fee in writing and agree the delivery date with you first. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

Get my fixed fee[See every fee](https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/fees/)

- $1,495 + GST The fixed fee where turnover is below $2 million, put in writing before we begin
- 2 business days From payment and complete information to a signed small-business report
- 32 York St Our Sydney office, in the CBD. Most of the work is done from your documents and a call
- 10 years How long the working file behind each report is kept Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

An estate valuation puts an independent figure on a business, or on shares or units in one, as at the day its owner died. Executors in Sydney ask for one for three reasons. The probate papers list the property in the estate and its value. Tax law looks to the value at death for some inherited assets. And the people who inherit want to know the business has been counted fairly when the estate is divided. Our report gives the value at that date and explains how it was reached, in a form the estate’s lawyer and accountant can rely on.

## Why an executor needs a figure for the business

A house can be appraised in an afternoon and a listed share has a price on the screen. A family company, a share in a partnership or a sole trader’s business has neither. Yet the executor still has to put a value on it, often within weeks, and stand behind that value in front of beneficiaries who may each see it differently.

A valuation from someone with no interest in the estate does three jobs at once:

- It gives the executor a supportable figure for the estate’s records
- It shows every beneficiary how the figure was arrived at
- It gives the accountant a market value at the date of death, where a tax rule asks for one

Our fixed fee covers a valuation report for advice, negotiation and settlement. Evidence for a court is different work: an expert report under the court’s rules is scoped and priced on its own, in writing, before it starts.

Ask about your matter[See every fee](https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/fees/)

## The value is struck at the date of death

An estate valuation looks backwards. It asks what the business was worth on one past day, using what was known or could have been known on that day. Things that happened afterwards, a contract won or a senior employee leaving, can be used to test the picture but not to redraw it.

That date is fixed, but an estate sometimes needs a second figure. If one child is to take the shares and another is to take cash some months later, the family may also want a value at the day of the division, so that the split is fair when it is made. Say so when you first write to us and one engagement can cover both dates.

## How much of the business depended on the person who died

This is usually the hardest question. In many small firms the owner held the customer relationships, the licence, the know-how, or all three. A buyer cannot acquire what has gone.

So a valuer separates the goodwill that belongs to the business, which someone else could take over, from the goodwill that was personal to its owner. The report looks at:

- Who the customers actually dealt with, and whether they have stayed
- Whether a manager or a co-owner is able to carry the business on
- Contracts, leases and licences, and whether each one continues after a death
- Any insurance payable to the business on the death of the owner
- How the business traded in the months beforehand, especially after a long illness

## Shares in a family company, or a share of a partnership

Where the estate holds shares, the first thing to read is the company constitution and any shareholders agreement. Many say what happens to a shareholder’s shares on death: who may buy them, and at what price or by what method. Where the document sets a method, the valuation follows it. Where it only says "market value" or "fair value", the valuer has to supply the rest.

A parcel that does not control the company can be worth less than its simple proportion of the whole, and a share of a partnership depends on what the partnership agreement provides. The report says exactly which interest was valued and on what basis, so a beneficiary can see what the figure does and does not cover.

## Who uses the report, and for what

Executors keep it with the estate’s records and use it in dealing with beneficiaries. Where a co-owner or a member of the family is buying the business from the estate, it sets a price that the others can accept. The estate’s lawyer uses it in administering the estate, and the accountant uses it for the tax position of the estate and of those who inherit.

It is a valuation. It is not legal or tax advice, and it is not written as expert evidence. If a contested estate goes to a hearing and an expert witness is needed, that is a separate engagement, agreed in writing beforehand.

In New South Wales

## Probate, claims on the estate and tax: where a value is asked for.

In New South Wales a grant of probate or letters of administration is made by the Supreme Court of NSW. An inventory of the property of the person who died is attached to the grant, and the court’s filing fee for an uncontested application depends on the sworn gross value of the estate. In other words, the executor is putting a value on the business in a court document.

### When someone makes a claim on the estate

An eligible person can apply to the Supreme Court for a family provision order under the Succession Act 2006. The court says the application must be made within 12 months of the date of death, otherwise an extension of time has to be sought. In these matters the court’s practice note asks for the nature and value of the assets and liabilities at the date of death, including any property that is, or could be, designated as notional estate.

### Where the court accepts an estimate

The same practice note, which covers family provision and contested probate matters, says that unless the court orders otherwise or strict proof is required, the parties may give an estimate of the value of the non-monetary assets of the estate other than real estate. A formal valuation matters most where the business is a large part of the estate, or where the people involved do not agree on what it is worth.

### Capital gains tax on what is inherited

Under the income tax law, a capital gain or loss on an asset a person owned just before dying is generally disregarded. The executor or beneficiary is taken to have acquired the asset on the day of death: generally at the cost base of the person who died if that person acquired it on or after 20 September 1985, and at its market value on the day of death if they acquired it before then. The estate’s accountant works out which applies. Where it is market value, the valuation supplies the figure.

## What the valuer will ask you for.

Nothing is needed to ask for your fee. Once you go ahead, these are the records we usually ask for, sent through our secure client portal.

- The will, and the grant of probate or letters of administration if one has been made
- The date of death
- The company constitution or trust deed, and any shareholders or partnership agreement
- Financial statements and tax returns for the three years before the death
- Management accounts up to the date of death, and for the months since
- The main customers, staff, leases and licences of the business
- Any insurance payable to the business on the owner’s death
- Any earlier valuation of the business, or offer to buy it

## Estates and probate: questions we are asked.

### What date is a business in a deceased estate valued at?

The date of death. The valuation works from what was known or knowable on that day, even if it is prepared months or years later. If the estate is being divided at a later date and a current value is needed as well, tell us at the start and both dates can be covered in the one engagement.

### Do I need a formal valuation to apply for probate in NSW?

That is a question for the estate’s lawyer. What the court’s own documents show is that an inventory of the estate’s property is attached to the grant and that the filing fee depends on the sworn gross value of the estate, so the business has to be given a value. A formal valuation matters most when the business is a large part of the estate or the beneficiaries may question the figure.

### Can the estate valuation be used for capital gains tax?

Often, yes. For an asset the person who died had acquired before 20 September 1985, the tax law generally treats the beneficiary as acquiring it at market value on the day of death, which is the date an estate valuation is struck at. For later assets a different rule generally applies. Your accountant decides which one fits. Tell us at the start if the report will also be used for tax.

### A family member wants to buy the business from the estate. Does that change the valuation?

It changes what the report is used for, not how it is prepared. An independent value gives the buyer and the other beneficiaries a price they can each accept, because none of them set it. If the sale will happen some time after the death, a value at the date of the sale may be needed as well as the value at the date of death.

### How long after the death can the valuation be done?

At any time. The value is worked out as at the date of death from the records as they stood then, so a delay does not stop the work. Sooner is easier, though, because bank records, management accounts and the recollections of staff and co-owners are simpler to gather while the estate is still being administered.

### Who can ask for an estate valuation?

Usually the executor or administrator, or the estate’s lawyer or accountant on their behalf. A beneficiary or a surviving co-owner can also ask for one. The report is addressed to whoever instructs us and says who may rely on it, so tell us when you write if it needs to be shared with the other beneficiaries or with a court.

Valuations that often sit beside this one

- [Share and unit valuations in Sydney](https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/services/share-and-unit-valuation/)
- [Tax and CGT valuations in Sydney](https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/services/cgt-and-tax-valuation/)
- [Every valuation service](https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/services/)

Where in Sydney

- [Sydney CBD](https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/areas/sydney-cbd/)
- [North Sydney and the North Shore](https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/areas/north-sydney-and-north-shore/)
- [Parramatta and Western Sydney](https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/areas/parramatta-and-western-sydney/)
- [Eastern Suburbs](https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/areas/eastern-suburbs/)
- [Inner West and South Sydney](https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/areas/inner-west-and-south-sydney/)
- [Northern Beaches](https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/areas/northern-beaches/)

## Where the rules on this page come from

This page describes the rules in general terms. It is not legal, tax or duty advice: your lawyer or accountant advises on how a rule applies to you.

- [Probate](https://supremecourt.nsw.gov.au/wills-probate.html), Supreme Court of NSW
- [Applying for a grant of probate](https://supremecourt.nsw.gov.au/wills-probate/applications/applying-for-probate.html), Supreme Court of NSW
- [Contested proceedings (family provision claims)](https://supremecourt.nsw.gov.au/wills-probate/contested-proceedings.html), Supreme Court of NSW
- [Practice Note SC EQ 07, Probate and Family Provision List](https://supremecourt.nsw.gov.au/documents/Practice-and-Procedure/Practice-Notes/equity-practice-notes/current/SC_Eq_7-14.6.24.pdf), Supreme Court of NSW
- [Filing fees as at 1 July 2026](https://supremecourt.nsw.gov.au/documents/Forms-and-Fees/FEES/Fee-Schedules/Fees_1_July_2026.pdf), Supreme Court of NSW
- [Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, sections 128-10 and 128-15](https://www.ato.gov.au/law/view/document?docid=PAC/19970038/128-15), ATO legal database
- [Cost base of inherited assets](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/investments-and-assets/capital-gains-tax/inherited-assets-and-capital-gains-tax/cost-base-of-inherited-assets), Australian Taxation Office

Ask a valuer

## Tell us about the business.

A few lines is enough. A valuer replies within one business day with the package that fits, your fixed fee in writing and a delivery date.

Page last reviewed on 15 November 2026. Business Valuations Sydney, 32 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000.

Signed reports from $1,495 + GST. One fixed fee, in writing, before work starts.

Get my fixed fee

---
Business Valuations Sydney · 32 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000 · https://businessvaluationssydney.com.au/start/