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Estate Planning
Welcome to Home Point Appraisal, Your Trusted
Real Estate
Estate Planning
Appraiser
An Estate Planning Appraisal is a professional valuation of real estate conducted to assist in planning the transfer of assets for estate, tax, and inheritance purposes. This appraisal provides an accurate, objective assessment of property value, helping individuals structure wills, trusts, or gifting strategies, minimize estate taxes, and ensure equitable distribution of assets among beneficiaries. The valuation considers the property’s condition, location, market trends, and comparable sales.
Why Choose Home Point Appraisal?
With over 25+ years of experience in the SoCal real estate industry, we have expertise and knowledge of your local market. Call us for fast response or click the button below to get an instant quote.
Frequently Asked Questions — Estate Planning Appraisal
Why do I need an appraisal for estate planning?
An accurate property value is essential for estate planning decisions: gift tax filings, generation-skipping transfers, trust funding, GRAT/QPRT structuring, family limited partnership valuations, charitable contributions, and estate tax projections. Without a defensible value, your planning decisions rest on assumptions that the IRS may later challenge. A USPAP-compliant appraisal locks in a supportable value for your tax and trust filings.
What value standard is used for estate planning?
Estate planning appraisals typically use fair market value (FMV) as defined by IRS Revenue Ruling 59-60: the price at which a property would change hands between a willing buyer and willing seller, neither under compulsion. For certain transactions (fractional interests, FLPs, LLCs holding real estate), additional discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability may apply — we coordinate with your attorney or CPA on those.
Can you appraise fractional interests for FLP or LLC planning?
We appraise the underlying real estate at fair market value. The fractional interest discount (for lack of control and lack of marketability) is typically supported by a separate business valuation specialist, but our real estate appraisal provides the foundation that valuation builds on. We coordinate with estate planning attorneys, CPAs, and BV specialists to ensure all values reconcile.
How current does the appraisal need to be?
For most estate planning purposes, the appraisal should be no older than 12 months as of the planning transaction date. For gift tax filings, the appraisal value as of the gift date is what matters — so the appraisal can be performed any time after the gift, as long as it reflects the value at the actual gift date. For ongoing trust funding decisions, more recent appraisals are stronger.
Will the IRS accept your estate planning appraisal?
Yes. Estate planning appraisals are prepared to IRS-required standards under USPAP and Section 2031 of the Internal Revenue Code. Reports document the methodology, comparable sales analysis, market conditions, and value reconciliation in the level of detail expected by IRS examiners. Glenn is an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) qualified as a Qualified Appraiser for federal tax matters.
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