Trust & Estate Appraisals

Whether you are funding a trust, settling one, planning an estate, or administering it as a fiduciary, real property is usually the largest and least liquid asset on the list — and the one hardest to put a credible number on.

An appraisal from an independent third party solves that. It gives trustees something to act on, gives beneficiaries something to trust, and gives attorneys and accountants documentation that holds up under review.

When a Trust or Estate Appraisal Is Needed

• Funding a trust. Establishing the value of property being transferred in.
• Trust termination or distribution. Determining what each beneficiary is entitled to when the real estate is not being sold.
• Estate planning. Understanding where you stand before making gifting or titling decisions.
• Fiduciary accounting. Trustees have a legal duty to act in the beneficiaries’ interest. Documented values are how that duty gets demonstrated.
• Gift tax reporting. Transfers of real property generally require a qualified appraisal to support the reported value.
• Charitable donation of real property. Deductions above the IRS threshold require a qualified appraisal.

Reports Built for the People Who Read Them

An estate appraisal often ends up in front of an attorney, an accountant, a judge, or a beneficiary who has never read one before. So the report needs to do two things at once: satisfy professional standards, and explain itself in plain English. Ours are written with both audiences in mind — the methodology is fully documented, and the reasoning is readable.

Retrospective and Current Valuations

Trust and estate work frequently calls for a value as of a past date — the date of a grantor’s death, the date a trust was funded, or the date of a transfer. We handle both retrospective and current effective dates, and we will tell you plainly which one your situation calls for.

Serving Fiduciaries Across Central Indiana

We work regularly with estate attorneys, CPAs, financial planners, and corporate trustees throughout Marion, Hamilton, Hendricks, Boone, Johnson, Hancock, and surrounding counties. If you handle these matters routinely and need a dependable appraiser on call, get in touch — we are happy to be that person.