Date of Valuation

What Statute Says: MN Statute 518.58:

The court shall value marital assets for purposes of division between the parties as of the day of the initially scheduled prehearing settlement conference, unless a different date is agreed upon by the parties, or unless the court makes specific findings that another date of valuation is fair and equitable. If there is a substantial change in value of an asset between the date of valuation and the final distribution, the court may adjust the valuation of that asset as necessary to effect an equitable distribution.

What dates are commonly used in practice:

• Date of ICMC (Specifically in Olmsted County)
• Date of the first hearing (generally the scheduling conference or ICMC)
• Date the matter was filed with the Court
• Date one party moved out of the home
• Date of pretrial

What dates are not as commonly used in practice:

• Date initial documents were served
• Date of the temporary relief hearing order

Picking the date of valuation can be very important as it can make a big change in property valuation. The attorney will work with the client to decide which DOV we will propose.

OLMSTED COUNTY (and sometimes 3rd district)

They are incredibly strict regarding the DOV and oftentimes issue a specific order regarding the DOV, stating that it will be the date of the ICMC unless otherwise addressed by an attorney. See example order below:

2023-01-10 Order for ICMC as DOV