24-Hour Appraisals for Trust and Estate Administration
Certified values for trustees and executors: accountings, distributions and trust sales.
A trustee or executor is expected to know what the trust or estate holds, what it is worth, and how that number was reached. A desktop appraisal gives you a signed, certified value you can put in an accounting, use to balance distributions, or show a beneficiary who asks where the figure came from.
Administration runs on other people's schedules
A beneficiary meeting is set for Monday. A buyer wants to close. The CPA needs values to finish the fiduciary return. When the real estate value is the last open item, 24-hour delivery takes it off the list.
Common administration uses
- Valuing the residence on the date of death for the trust's records and the beneficiaries' basis.
- Current value for a distribution in kind, or for a sale of the home to one of the beneficiaries.
- Balancing shares when one heir keeps the house and the others receive cash.
- Supporting the real estate figures in a trustee's accounting.
- Setting the asking price before the trust lists the property.
What to send
- The valuation date or dates you need: date of death, current, or both
- The trust or estate name as it should appear on the report
- Photos and any records of the home's condition
- The intended users, such as co-trustees, the attorney and the CPA
Send photos with your order through the upload page, or attach them to a reply to your confirmation email.
Is a desktop appraisal right for this?
Desktop appraisals suit most administration tasks, particularly when a fiduciary needs a defensible number quickly and the property's condition is well documented. In a formal California probate, real estate on the inventory is appraised by the court's probate referee; a private appraisal can still support pricing, distributions and the heirs' tax basis.
If co-trustees or beneficiaries are already at odds over value, consider an inspection-based appraisal, and ask your attorney how a private appraisal fits your case.
Prepared for every purpose on this site. Brian Ward has prepared desktop appraisals for every purpose listed on this site. Some situations still call for an inspection-based appraisal, so check with your attorney or tax advisor before you order to be sure a desktop report fits your matter.
Questions
Can I get the date-of-death value and today's value at the same time?
Yes. Both opinions of value can be developed in one assignment if you ask for them when you order. The fee and the delivery time are confirmed on your invoice before you pay.
Who is allowed to rely on the appraisal?
The client named in the report and the intended users listed in it, typically the trustee, the attorney and the CPA. Name everyone who needs to rely on it when you place the order.
Often ordered alongside
Date of Death & Step-Up in Basis
Retrospective value on the date of death to support the heirs' new tax basis.
24-hour details →
Family Transfers & Co-Owner Buyouts
A fair, documented price when a home changes hands inside the family.
24-hour details →
Gift Tax (Form 709)
Fair market value of gifted real estate on the date of transfer, for the gift-tax return.
24-hour details →Need this appraisal by this time tomorrow?
Start the order now. Payment and photos start the 24-hour clock, any day of the week.