Page 2 - Doerr Dallas Probate Valuations

Probate Valuations
Often referred to by lawyers as a valuation of the Chattels of the deceased, this includes such assets as furniture, paintings, works of art, jewellery, and personal possessions.
The process of probate valuation is relatively straight forward. The purpose is to ascertain the total value of the assets held in the estate, so that your Solicitor can see if the estate is liable for Inheritance Tax. Where the value of the estate is well below the current IHT threshold (£325,000 in 2020/2021) placing a relatively optimistic valuation on the chattels would probably not create an IHT liability. Where IHT must be paid, however, a realistic and justifiable open market valuation must be ascertained.
If gifts have been made within 7 years of the donor’s death, those gifts will be included in the personal allowance of the estate. A valuation and the date of any gifts is also advisable, as there is a sliding scale of tax liability between 0-7 years. The current standard rate of inheritance tax is 40% (2020/21)
A person’s liability to IHT can be reduced by either taking certain actions or through owning certain types of assets which are exempt or partially exempt from IHT, for example gifts to spouse, gifts to charity, owning AIM portfolios, farming, Business Property Relief assets, pensions, life insurance policies in trust.
At Doerr Dallas Valuations our team of qualified specialists attend the property to conduct the appraisal. We charge purely on a time basis, a quotation will be discussed and agreed with you and together with our terms and conditions of business which are agreed beforehand.
Probate valuations should not be charged as a percentage of the value of the estate, which can inflate the fee unnecessarily.