One date controls the estate tax filing and the stepped-up cost basis: the date of passing. Appraisal Services of Oregon establishes what the property was worth on that exact date, with market evidence pulled from that time, prepared for the CPAs and attorneys who file with it.
A date-of-death valuation fixes a property’s market value to the date of passing, not to today. Families, CPAs, and estate attorneys file with that value for estate tax and stepped-up cost basis purposes. We prove the value with comparable sales and market records from the effective date itself. Renovations, sales, and market swings after that date change nothing. The research behind the date drives the fee, and a short consultation quotes it accurately. Appraisal Services of Oregon delivers retrospective reports built for professional review.
A date-of-death appraisal is a retrospective valuation fixed to the date of passing. Every comparable sale, every market condition, and the condition of the property itself gets read as of that date.
The report states the effective date plainly and shows the evidence behind every conclusion.
The date of passing controls the valuation because every piece of evidence in the report is read as of that date. The effective date is determined by the purpose of the appraisal and the client’s needs, often in consultation with the estate’s attorney or CPA. Our responsibility is to develop a well-supported opinion of value as of the effective date identified in the assignment. Most assignments run on the date of passing; when the estate’s attorney or CPA directs a different date for the filing, we value as of the date they name. Advice on the choice stays with those professionals. Delivering a defensible value on the chosen date is our job.
We verify a past value with what the market actually did on and around the date of passing. Closed sales from the period, market records, and county documentation carry the value. A current inspection, family interviews, photographs, public records, and other available documentation help establish the property’s condition as of the effective date.
More than 24 years of residential appraisal work across Oregon and Washington stand behind that research, including acreage and rural properties where historical comparable data runs thinnest.
One recent date-of-death appraisal involved a property owner who was preparing to sell a home he had inherited more than thirteen years earlier. Only then did he learn that he needed a market value as of his mother’s date of death for tax purposes. By reconstructing the market as it existed on the effective date, I was able to provide the date-of-death appraisal his CPA needed, demonstrating that even many years after a person’s passing, a well-supported date-of-death appraisal can still be completed.
Families, CPAs, and estate attorneys all rely on the date-of-death valuation, each from a different desk. The same retrospective value serves three roles at once:
The date-of-death appraisal report delivers a fixed value, full USPAP compliance, and one consistent number for every professional. Every assignment from Appraisal Services of Oregon includes:
Backed by comparable sales from that time, with the effective date stated in plain terms.
With a stated scope of work and a signed certification, prepared under USPAP appraisal standards and reporting.
So the CPA and the attorney work from the same defensible value.
Whenever the need for a date-of-death appraisal arises, obtaining it as soon as practical helps avoid unnecessary delays for the estate, CPA, and attorney. Whether the date of passing was recent or many years ago, a well-supported retrospective appraisal can often still be completed. The CPA and the attorney both need the number before their own work moves, and early ordering keeps the valuation off the critical path.
Settlement decisions beyond the tax filing, dividing, selling, or keeping the property, run through our estate appraisals, and many estates use both values at different points.
Many date-of-death assignments involve properties that have been renovated, expanded, or otherwise improved after the owner’s passing, often before the estate’s tax work has been completed. Over more than 24 years of residential appraisal experience, I have completed hundreds of retrospective appraisals where later improvements had to be distinguished from the property’s condition as of the effective date. Through historical records, photographs, family interviews, and other available documentation, I develop a well-supported opinion of value that reflects the property as it existed on the date of death, regardless of changes made afterward.
Call 503-757-7100 or send a request with the property details, the date of passing, and the purpose.
One appointment plus the records work that rebuilds the market as it stood.
Fixed to the effective date, documented for the professionals who file with it.
Date-of-death appraisal cost follows the research the effective date requires. The further back the date, the deeper the research, and six factors shape every quote:
A short consultation settles the scope and quotes your assignment accurately. Request a date-of-death appraisal consultation or call 503-757-7100. We serve a 17-county primary area across Oregon and Washington, the Columbia River Gorge included, with select assignments beyond it.
Not necessarily. Many date-of-death appraisals are completed years after a person’s passing. While older effective dates often require additional research, a well-supported retrospective appraisal can frequently still be developed using historical market data, property records, photographs, and other available information.
No, events after the effective date have no effect on a date-of-death value. The appraisal reads the property and the market as they stood on the date of passing. Later renovations, sales, and market movement stay outside the analysis by design.
No, our date-of-death valuations cover real property only. Securities, vehicles, and personal property require different specialists, and the estate’s CPA or attorney coordinates those valuations alongside ours.
A sale after the date of passing is a separate decision, served by a separate current valuation. The retrospective report holds its effective date permanently, so both values stand on their own record. Many families order the current valuation from the same practice when the sale decision arrives.
The date of passing, access to the property, and any records of its past condition are the useful starting points. Photographs, permit history, and improvement records all strengthen the condition analysis. Missing records stop nothing; our research fills those gaps.
No, the appraisal establishes the property’s value, and the tax calculation belongs to the estate’s CPA. The report gives the tax professional the defensible number their work depends on, documented to survive review.
Independent, USPAP compliant valuations across a 17-county primary service area. Call or send a request today.
