If you live in Greensboro, North Carolina and have recently made a will, or are in the process of doing so, you probably know that you will have to choose an executor who will manage your estate after you die. While there are several important duties that all executors must perform, one of the key duties involves taking an inventory of all the estate property and determining how much it’s worth. As part of this process, the executor might have to have property appraised. Here’s what you need to know about probate appraisals.
Inventory
After submitting the will to the probate court and receiving the authority to begin settling the estate, appraisers will have to inventory the estate property. This inventory will have to list everything the decedent owned. It will also have to detail how much each of the assets are worth.
Value
When listing the value of probate assets, executors often have to hire an appraiser. While some items, such as bank accounts or investment accounts, are easy to value because of their nature, the worth of other items is less easily determined.
For example, an executor who has to probate an estate where the deceased person left behind a collection of artwork or valuable antiques may not readily know how much each of those items is worth. To determine fair market value, executors will often have to hire an appraiser. The appraiser will determine what the fair market value is, while the executor will have to pay for the appraisal fee with estate money.
