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At What Value Should You Get A Trust For Estate Tax Purposes?

At What Value Should You Get A Trust For Estate Tax Purposes

I would like to share with you, how to determine at what value you can get a trust for estate tax purposes. This amount changes every year. If you are only looking at the estate tax in the United States, it is $11.4 million per person. This changes each year so if you have other questions about estate taxes or estate planning, please call Ascent Law for a free consultation.

Let’s next turn to defining what estate valuation is. Estate valuation is simply the process of calculating the value of an estate for federal estate tax purposes.
There are two major way to calculate the value of an estate the internal revenue code provides. These two values are:
• The date of death value-
• And the alternate valuation date value.
Working with these two values to determine whether or not an estate should get a trust for tax purposes, the death value which is also called the deceased estate valuation, has been noted with problems that almost always come up among beneficiaries.

The date of death valuation, and why you should get one.
In the state or territory where the estate is located, a probate valuation report is usually required.

The reasons for these valuations are numerous, but one very interesting thing about this deceased estate valuation is the kind of misunderstandings and disputes that the beneficiaries which are mostly family members, bring up.

And if these issues are not well handled can escalate and delay whatever proceedings that would have ensued to make positive impact on the property’s value.

It is always advisable for an independent property valuation to conducted, in order to ensure that the fair market value of the property is established.

The probate office in the state or territory where the property is located always require a probate valuation report. It is the executor of the will or the administrator that would ensure that the office of the probate in the state, gets this report.

An estimate of the total value of all the assets is part of what the executor of the will would provide. This is to ensure accuracy in the tax liabilities.

A grant of probate of the will, is usually obtained by the executor of the will of a deceased estate in order to have the title amended at the Land Registry before the asset is sold.


These days it has become a lot easy to update the name on the title from that of the deceased that of the executor of the will. When that is done, it would be a proof that the executor has been granted Probate. This probate property valuation report is very common when the fair market value of a deceased estate is about to be determined on behalf of the beneficiaries.

It is important that you involve an independent property valuer before you think about selling or transferring the family home. This would give some the peace of mind you need, when you become aware of the full current market value of the property.

When you do that, you would at least be confident when you get real estate agents involved to help you sell the property, because you have gotten an idea of the current market value of the property.

The Office of the State Revenue would need to get an independent property valuation report to confirm that the stamp duty payable on all sales is legit. This also applies even if the property was given away as a gift.
The properties held within the fund is required by superannuation to enable them make a proper report of the value of the fund.

This may be an annual endeavor or a matter of every three years. Whatever the case, your super fund would have that information.

Alternate Valuation Date

This is the fair market value of all the assets in a gross estate, in like six month after the date of death. The alternate valuation works with a time frame after the deceased estate became a deceased estate, and in this case, a six month period is taken to determine the fair market value of the property. The personal representative is permitted to choose which method of determining the market value for tax purposes he wants under the Internal Revenue Code. Remember, it is either they use the date of date values, or the alternate valuation date.

If the representative chooses the alternate valuation date method, and the estate is substantial enough to be subject to federal estate taxes it might reduce the value of the gross estate. If for Instance an estate contains a house and other real estate and you are handling it as the executor of the will, you would want to first of all determine its worth before you start thinking of any other thing. One of the reasons is that you would have to report taxes on either gain or loss on the sale when you eventually sell it off. Another reason is, if the estate goes through probate and becomes necessary to divide the estate assets among the beneficiaries, you would need the determined value for inventory.

It is said that if you want to know the fair market value of any property, quickly put out for sale, and if you can sell the property within six months or with a year after the initial owner’s death, the Internal Revenue services would accept whatever selling price as a fair market price value at the date of death. So long as the business was made fairly and in proper business terms. This means that you cannot give the property to a family friend or distant relative at a price that is below the fair market price. If you do, it would be noted by the estate beneficiaries and they would complain. Even the IRS would not accept the value when tax is to be deducted.

A real estate that was inherited may not be sold very quickly unless perhaps the beneficiaries have an agreement to do so in order to avoid certain discrepancies among other reasons. However it is generally seen that market conditions is the reason why many beneficiaries hold onto the property a while longer before they think to sell it. It is a wise decision to hold onto the property for a while, before selling most times. Though if the estate is going through probate, there is no way for there not to be any delay. And so it is important to let the beneficiaries know, and before you think to sell it, get a court approval. If you want to sell the property and you are not sure of the estimate or what price range to put it out for sale at, you cannot just look that the house and determine the value like that, if you do so by guessing, you might be guessing below the market value or way above the market value.

So what is advisable is to get a good number of real estate agents and consult with them to give you their estimate. They would be able to help by comparing recent sales of properties of similar structure and appeal. A good real estate agent would give you a realistic estimate, and you should be also able to know from how closely related their estimates are, to know the real estate agents that are really into the business so that you can involve them in the selling process fully when you are ready to sell.
When they give you their estimates, you can then compare and contrast enough and make your unique decision on the price.

Professional Appraisals

If you want a more reliable and defensible estimate, go for a licensed real estate appraiser. They are the only one who I can assure you, know what they are doing as it is their main business, and not a side business like most real estate agents are. These licensed appraisers would not inflate a valuation like other non-licensed real estate agents might.

If the property is one that would be producing income as a residential property, like a duplex for instance, you would definitely need an appraisal. The truth is, assets like these are hard to value properly, unlike other residential units that have sales comparison. If you want to find a licensed appraiser, you can ask your local real estate agents, or bank to recommend one for you. For their service, you would pay some good sum of money because of the degree of professionalism you are looking to hire. I can estimate at least several hundred dollars if it is a residential appraisal, or a commercial property appraisal. Do not delay this process and move quickly as the real estate market has the tendency to change very quickly and very often. Also because you need the death date value. If you don’t get the death date value on time, it would be hard for anyone to estimate that later.

Alternate Valuation vs. Date of death Estate Valuation.

There are obvious differences between the two types of valuation right? I decided to end the article with a clear comparison. If one or more of a real estate’s assets losses their significant value during the six month after death period, a personal representative would choose the alternate valuation date over the date of death estate valuation. The tax bill can be reduced with this method. But if the properties are still within their full significant value, all the estates assets must be revealed. If an asset is sold within the first six months after the date of death, the price the asset was sold must be used.

How is ‘house value’ defined?

For probate purposes, the house’s estimation is characterized as its open market esteem, which is the thing that the property may sensibly get in the event that it was sold on the open market to a (willing) purchaser on the date of exchange. This implies any quirks, (for example, a purchaser edgy to buy on the property’s road and willing to pay well over the chances) ought to be disregarded. For the most part, the exchange date is the day the person died, yet on the off chance that the person gave the property away as a gift inside the past seven years, at that point it is the date the gift was given.

Who needs to get the probate valuation?

The Personal Representatives (counting agents and executives) are in charge of building up a precise estimation of their benefits for probate. Resources can incorporate property, furniture, vehicles, money related resources, and individual effects. What’s the best methodology for direct circumstances? On the off chance that the property is of standard development and in a region where there are comparable properties, HM Revenue and Customs encourage you to check promoted costs with neighborhood domain specialists for houses or pads of a similar size and in a similar condition.

You can likewise request that domain operators esteem the property, and on the off chance that you adopt this strategy, get a few valuations and take the normal cost. The esteem you submit and any counts you cause must to be reasonable should you be asked by the District Valuer. In any case, know that some home specialists may give you a proposed asking value which is higher than the incentive for which they would really anticipate that the property should sell. This would prompt a swelled probate valuation, implying that the recipients could be at risk for more legacy charge than was vital. To keep away from this, request that the operator give a normal selling cost just as an asking cost. When is it worth getting a surveyor’s valuation? In the event that the property is of non-standard development, or is the just one of its sort in the zone, or there have been no ongoing offers of comparable properties in the zone so it’s harder to set up the market esteem, it might be important to pay a contracted surveyor for an expert valuation. Getting an expert valuation may likewise be the best alternative if the property is extremely incapacitated however is on a huge plot of land which could be appropriate for improvement.

Trust Lawyer Free Consultation

When you need legal help with a trust or estate tax matter, please call Ascent Law for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.

Michael R. Anderson, JD

Ascent Law LLC
8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C
West Jordan, Utah
84088 United States

Telephone: (801) 676-5506