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Probate appraisal
When a Florida estate includes a house, somebody has to put a value on it that the court, the heirs and the creditors can rely on. A probate appraisal exists so that value is a documented fact rather than an estimate someone later has to defend.
What the appraisal is for
The personal representative files an inventory of the estate's assets, and real property is usually the largest line on it. Every audience that reads that inventory — heirs, their attorneys, creditors, the court, and where estate tax is in play, the IRS — is entitled to ask where the number came from. A tax-roll figure or an online estimate invites exactly the objections a probate is supposed to settle. A written appraisal by a state-certified appraiser answers the question before it is asked.
The effective date is usually not today
Probate values are ordinarily stated as of the date of death, which makes this a retrospective assignment: the comparable sales must come from the market as it stood on that date, and the property is valued in the condition it was in then. If the house has been cleared out, repaired or left to deteriorate since, the report reasons from photographs, permits and listing history rather than from the current walk-through. The mechanics are on our retrospective appraisals guide, and the tax side of the same number — the heirs' stepped-up basis — is covered on the estate and date of death page.
Formal administration, summary administration
Florida probate runs through more than one procedure, and which one applies — and what valuation support it requires — is a question for the estate's attorney, not for us. What we supply is the same in either case: a defensible value, correctly dated, in a report a court can read.
When the house will be sold during probate
Many estates sell the property before the case closes. The appraisal then does double duty: it supports the inventory, and it gives the personal representative a documented basis for the list price and for accepting or rejecting offers. If the eventual sale price differs from the date-of-death value, the difference is usually the market moving between the two dates — and a properly dated appraisal is what makes that explanation stick.
When heirs disagree
Sibling buyouts and contested estates need one number everyone can examine, not several numbers each side ordered for itself. We take instruction on scope — the property, the date, who will rely on the report — and no instruction at all on the conclusion. Our file includes 391 field reviews, assignments where our work was to examine another appraiser's report and say whether it held up; a contested probate valuation calls for the same discipline, applied to our own work first.
Our experience
Appraising South Florida since 1992, with 34,000+ appraisals in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Broward counties. We work with personal representatives, probate attorneys, CPAs and trustees, we handle multi-property estates with a consistent method so the inventory holds together as a set, and we are used to occupied houses, out-of-state heirs and court deadlines. Our staff includes an MAI and SRA designated appraiser. Residential only. Attorneys may also want our probate guide for attorneys.
What we will not do
We do not produce a number to serve one heir's position, and we do not give legal advice. What the probate procedure requires, and what the estate should elect, are questions for counsel; our part is a value that survives whoever reads it.
How the assignment runs
A short call first: the date of death, the property, the procedure's deadline, and who will rely on the report. We tell you what evidence to gather, arrange access through the personal representative or counsel, inspect if the property is accessible, build the comparable analysis as of the effective date from our own records, and deliver a full report with the certification and the reasoning shown.
Call 561-853-2129 or request an appraisal. We serve Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Broward counties.
Questions we hear about this work
Do I need an appraisal for the probate inventory?
The personal representative is responsible for the values reported on the inventory, and a qualified appraisal is the defensible way to support real property. Whether your case requires one is a question for the estate's attorney.
Is the property valued as of the date of death or today?
Usually the date of death, which makes it a retrospective assignment: comparable sales as of that date and the property's condition on that date, not today's.
Can you appraise the house if an heir is living in it?
Yes. We schedule the inspection through whoever controls access — the personal representative or counsel — and an occupied house is a normal condition of this work, not an obstacle.
How fast can a probate appraisal be done for a court deadline?
We quote a turn time with the fee after hearing the date of death, the property and the deadline — and the date we quote is the date we hit. Court schedules are part of this practice.