Estate Appraisals

Air Date:
Heard On The Larry Meiller Show
Estate.
Victor Barger (CC-BY-NC-ND-2.0)

Larry Meiller and his guest discuss the process of getting an estate appraised. Plus, find out why it might be worth looking into even if it’s not required by law.

Featured in this Show

  • 4 Reasons Why An Estate Appraisal May Be Worthwhile — Or Even Necessary

    Estate appraisals upon a person’s death aren’t exactly commonplace, but conducting one is nevertheless something that some people may want to arrange when a loved one dies.

    Heirloom appraiser Shirley Baumann said an estate — generally defined as all the valuable things a person owns — can include farms, cars, and yard antiques.

    “It also includes art, antiques, jewelry, anything — even down to the sofa, TV and Tupperware. That’s all included,” she said.

    Here are four common reasons Baumann lists for why a person might want to conduct an appraisal of such things:

    1. It might be required by law. The federal government requires an appraisal when a person’s estate reaches a value of $5 million, according to Baumann.
    2. For the sake of knowing. A personal representative for an estate might request an appraisal simply to know the worth of their property.
    3. Interested parties might want one. Heirs, for example, might believe that an inheritance isn’t being handled properly.
    4. So that bequests can be properly handled. If most of the deceased’s assets are in fine art, for example, it poses a problem for a person overseeing a will. “They would need to know what the value of that (estate) is to be able to sell it and make those cash contributions,” Baumann said.

    It bears mentioning that appraising an estate can be a complicated process: For each category of possession, said Baumann, a separate appraiser is needed. Business properties have a different appraiser than real estate properties, for example, while fine art appraisers can’t do the job of a gemologist (someone who appraises jewelry). Baumann said it might be necessary to go to a few different specialists in order to complete the estate appraisal.

Episode Credits

  • Larry Meiller Host
  • Cheyenne Lentz Producer
  • Shirley Baumann Guest

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