Fair Market Value

Estate and date-of-death appraisals

An estate appraisal establishes Fair Market Value as of the date of death: the price at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither under compulsion and both reasonably informed. The estate tax return, the probate inventory and the heirs’ cost basis all depend on it.

When you need one

Settling an estate in Monroe County or upstate New York

You are an executor or administrator of an estate containing art, antiques, silver or collections, in Monroe County Surrogate’s Court or any other upstate county
You are filing Form 706 or a New York State estate tax return
You are establishing stepped-up basis for heirs who may later sell
The will directs property to be divided and an impartial figure is needed
Beneficiaries disagree about what something is worth

Thresholds

Whether the estate owes tax, and why the appraisal matters either way

For deaths in 2026 the federal exclusion is $15,000,000 and the New York exclusion is $7,350,000. Both are indexed, and both are keyed to the year of death rather than the year the return is filed. Where a particular estate falls is a determination for your attorney; what follows is only the outline.

New York does not tax only the excess. Between the exclusion and 105% of it ($7,717,500 for 2026) the exclusion phases out; above that figure it is lost entirely and the estate is taxed from the first dollar. New York also has no portability, so a surviving spouse cannot inherit an unused exclusion as they can federally.

If the estate is anywhere near the cliff

Say so at the first call. Close to $7,717,500, the art and contents schedule can be what carries an estate across the line, and a hundred thousand dollars of value can cost several hundred thousand in tax. The practice needs to know this before the work starts, not after the report is delivered.

Below both thresholds no return is due, but an appraisal is often still worth commissioning. The heirs’ cost basis is the date-of-death value, so the figure in the report determines their capital gain whenever they sell. An estate that owes nothing today can leave its beneficiaries an expensive problem in ten years.

What you get

An inventory built to match the return

A complete inventory with individual Fair Market Values as of the date of death or the alternate valuation date, organized to match the return, with photography, supporting market data and a signed certification.

The practice works directly with your attorney or accountant and delivers in the format they need. Instructions have come from trusts-and-estates counsel in Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse, and the practice understands what such a firm requires: a schedule that meets the filing date, a report whose methodology survives an examiner, and no supervision.

Where an estate also involves lifetime transfers or a planned gift to a museum, see gift tax appraisals and charitable donation appraisals, which apply the same standard of value on a different effective date.

The whole-house problem

Four hundred objects, twenty that matter

Most estates are a house with four hundred objects in it, most worth very little and a handful worth a great deal.

Triage means recognizing on sight which twenty require research and which three hundred and eighty can be catalogued as lots. Fifteen years of cataloguing regional estates is precisely that skill, and it is what keeps the bill down.

What triage is for

A pair of marble busts in a large estate had been recorded as copies by a leading New York auction house. Research established them as signed works by Jean-Antoine Houdon, and they sold for $1.475 million. Two objects had been assumed rather than examined, which is the failure triage exists to prevent. The full account is in the casebook.

Before you clear the house

Call before anything is sold, donated or discarded. Once property has left the house the date-of-death value becomes far harder to support, and the unremarkable object in the back bedroom is often the one that matters.

Download the executor’s checklist (PDF): what to do before anything moves, which documents to find, and why the date matters. Nothing to fill in, no need to make contact.

Common questions

When should the appraisal be done?

As early as practical, and before the contents are dispersed. The valuation date is the date of death regardless of when the work is performed, but identifying property and reconstructing condition after it has been scattered is slower, costlier and less reliable.

Is everything in the house appraised?

Only what needs to be. Items of nominal value are grouped and valued as lots; items of real value are researched individually. That distinction is where an experienced cataloguer saves an estate money.

What about the alternate valuation date?

An estate may elect to value assets six months after death rather than at death, if the election reduces both the gross estate and the tax. If your attorney is considering it, say so at the outset and both dates will be valued.

Can the practice work from photographs if the estate is out of state?

A defensible estate appraisal requires inspection. Where travel is impractical, the practice would rather refer you to a competent appraiser in that market than produce a report it cannot stand behind.

What is the New York estate tax cliff?

New York does not tax only the amount above its exclusion. For deaths in 2026 the exclusion is $7,350,000; once an estate exceeds 105% of that figure ($7,717,500) the exclusion is lost entirely and the whole estate is taxed from the first dollar. An estate near that line should say so before the appraisal begins, because the contents schedule can be what carries it across.

Is an appraisal worth doing if the estate owes no tax?

Often, yes. The heirs’ cost basis is the date-of-death value, so the figure in the report determines their capital gain whenever they sell. An estate below both thresholds files no return, but the beneficiaries carry that number forward, and reconstructing it years later is far harder than establishing it now.

Rate

$275 per hour

Estate, gift and donation rate. No project minimum. Fees are never based on the value of the property. Full fee schedule

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