Estate Appraisals In Southern Maine
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What is an Estate Settlement Appraisal?When the estate settling process begins due to death of owner, many times an appraisal is needed to establish Fair Market Value for tax or inheritance purposes. We do this by producing excellent, irrefutable appraisals that will stand up for documentation with the IRS or state agencies by demonstrating exactly how we arrived at our value conclusion and including all evidence within the report.
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Who orders an Estate Settlement Appraisal?An estate settlement appraisal can be ordered by a lawyer, accountant, executor, or family member. If an audit is anticipated, many attorneys and accountants prefer to use certified appraisers, such as those at CM Appraisals. Along with superior credentials and methodology, local experience gives our clients an advantage. Tax court and circuit courts often look to the best appraisal done by the most competent appraiser rather than "splitting the difference."
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Executors often ask that the value be "kept low," presumably to minimize estate taxes. But the trade-off is a higher tax basis. If the gross value of the estate is well under $600,000 and the beneficiaries plan on keeping the property, a higher value to get a larger stepped up basis may be more advantageous. For example, if a property is valued at $300,000, rather than $275,000, and is sold 5 years later for $400,000, The taxable gain would only be $100,000. If the same property appraised at $275,000 the taxable gain would be $125,000. Many people are unaware of the stepped up basis and are surprised later when they sell the property several years (or more) after inheriting it. Our estate appraisals utilize the definition of “Fair Market Value” set forth by the IRS.
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Still Confused ?Give us a call. We can discuss your needs and answer most questions you might have.
If you are not already working with an attorney, we can refer you to several local attorneys whom we have well established relationships. They can help guide you through the process and make this transition smooth and stress fee. |
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"Dear Candy, Thanks so much for taking care of our appraisal needs...in the sad time of mom's passing, it was calming to have you do the work."
~ Lori and Lyle |